^  %n:oii^ 


7 

^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *g 


Presented    by    \-^r'(2/&\0\c£/Y^V    \  (TvV-Vor 

BV  2372  .H34  A3  1882 
Hallock,  William  A.  1794- 

1880. 
Memorial  of  Rev.  Wm.  A. 

Hallock.  D.  D.  .  fir^^-^ 


^XfOLULDAra   ^o  [}{]A[L[L®CKp  [0).  [0) 

SECRETARY   OF    THE  AMERICAN   TRACT  SOCIETY. 


Memorial 


OF 


REV.WM.  A.  HALLOCK,  D.D., 


FIRST   SECRETARY 


OF   THE 


American  Tract  Society. 


BY  MRS.  H.  C.  KNIGHT. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Early  Home page      5 

CHAPTER  n. 
Life  in  Andover 13 

CHAPTER  HL 

First  Labors  in  Tract  Work 23 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Formation  of  the  American  Tract  Society 32 

CHAPTER  V. 

Development  of  Tract  Work — Marriage — Home -- —    43 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Fruitful  Activities- ■ 5- 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Enlarged  Labors— Close  of  the  Journal 64 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Colportage;  and  Conflict 76 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  End:   Portraits  by  Co-Workers  and  Friends 86 


MEMORIAL 


OF 


REV.  WM.  A.  HALLOCK,  D.  D, 


CHAPTER   I. 
THE  EARLY  HOME. 

In  the  bold  and  rugged  town  of  Plainfield,  in  the 
western  part  of  Massachusetts,  settled  chiefly  by  farm- 
ers, Rev.  Moses  Hallock  was  ordained  pastor  of  its 
newly-formed  church,  July  ii,  1792. 

In  summer  the  whole  region  is  clad  in  living  green. 
On  the  south,  lies  Cummington,  the  birthplace  of  our  poet 
Bryant.  Westward  rises  Mount  Greylock  twenty  miles 
or  so.  Eastward  in  the  clear  air  Monadnock  lifts  its 
hoary  head,  while  towards  the  north,  the  Green  moun- 
tain range  stretches  far  away  into  the  state  which  bears 
its  name. 

Ninety  pounds  were  voted  for  the  settlement  of  the 
new  minister,  "  with  forty-five  pounds  for  two  years,  to 
be  increased  five  pounds  a  year  until  it  reached  sixty 
pounds,  when  the  sum  becomes  stationary."  We  be- 
lieve, however,  the  sum  became  stationary  long  before 
reaching  its  legal  limits;   "the  settlement  and  salary  to 


6  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  IIALLOCK, 

be  paid,  one  quarter  in  cash,  the  other  three-fourths 
in  farm  produce  at  cash  prices." 

If  this  seems  meagre,  let  us  remember  that  wood  in 
the  forest  was  but  twenty  cents  a  cord,  and  other  needs, 
fewer  and  simpler  than  now,  were  no  doubt  at  corre- 
sponding prices. 

On  receiving  a  gift  of  sixty  young  apple-trees  for  the 
orchard  of  the  new  parsonage,  "  The  trees  arrived  safely," 
writes  Mr.  Hallock  to  the  generous  donor.  "  I  received 
them  with  gratitude  and  set  them  out  with  more  care  than 
if  they  had  been  purchased  with  my  own  money.  I  can 
think  of  nothing  of  the  same  value  which  would  have 
been  so  acceptable.  The  ground  was  ready  to  receive 
them  ;  but  I  should  not  have  bought  any,  for  it  seemed 
imprudent  to  increase  my  debts.  May  I  ever,  with 
humility,  ascribe  the  supply  of  my  wants  to  the  Divine 
care.  I  hope,  sir,  the  limbs  of  these  trees  will  hereafter 
bend  to  meet  the  innocent  hands  ot  some  millennial 
people.  Did  I  know  this,  it  would  put  a  tenfold  value 
on  them.  I  am  wilHng  to  plant  for  them  to  eat.  When 
I  think  of  the  happiness  of  the  millennium,  my  soul 
runs  forward  to  anticipate  the  joy.  But  though  it 
tarry,  my  dear  brother,  let  us  wait  for  it,  for  surely  it 
will  come." 

Mr.  Hallock  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  with 
his  only  brother,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock,  who  nearly 
at  the  same  time  was  settled  in  Canton,  Conn.  Though 
sixty  miles  apart  when  sixty  miles  was  a  slow  and  toil- 
some journey,  the  brothers  never  failed  of  a  yearly 
meeting.     From  a  paper  written  to  a  grandchild  of  his 


THE  EARL  Y  HOME.  7 

life-long  and  well-beloved  deacon,  we  find  that  Mr. 
Moses  Hallock  "  used  to  visit  his  brother  once  in  two 
years,  and  the  road  which  he  travelled  passed  the  house 
of  Deacon  Richards,  so  he  always  called  there  on  his 
way  and  they  both  prayed  together  ere  he  went  on  his 
journey.  His  brother  also  visited  him  once  in  two 
years,  and  when  he  returned  home  Mr.  Hallock  used  to 
walk  by  the  side  of  the  wagon  as  far  as  your  grandfather 
Richards',  where  they  both  called,  and  the  three  prayed 
together  and  shook  hands  and  parted.  Was  not  that  a 
delightful  way  to  live  ?" 

Jeremiah  usually  came  to  Plainfield  in  September, 
often  bringing  their  aged  father  with  him,  which  led 
Moses  to  call  August  the  happiest  month  and  October  the 
gloomiest  month  in  the  year.  They  were  the  sons  of  a 
godly  English  ancestry,  early  rooted  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Long  Island.  When  their  venerated  father  died 
at  eighty-five,  the  most  precious  legacy  which  he 
wished  to  leave  was  "  one  word "  received  from  his 
father,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  latest  generation :  *'  Re- 
member there  is  a  long  eternity." 

The  young  pastor  of  Plainfield  brought  Margaret 
Allen  of  Chilmark,  Martha's  Vineyard,  to  be  wife  and 
help-meet  in  the  new  home.  At  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry  over  this  little  church  of  fourteen  members,  God 
poured  out  his  Spirit,  and  ''  in  consequence  of  this 
glorious  work,"  the  record  runs,  "  seventeen  joined  the 
church  in  one  day."  Again  we  find  that  "  another 
eifusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  entered  into  almost  every 
part  of  the  town,  and  in  some  parts  with  great  power." 


8  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

A  little  later,  "thirty-one  persons  joined  the  church, 
twenty-four  of  whom  adorned  the  aisle  at  one  time." 
Six  such  ingatherings  are  recorded  ending  in  1828, 
when  sixty-six  came  into  the  fold,  swelling  the  number 
to  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  during  his  ministry — 
a  truly  blessed  ministry  of  forty  years,  the  harmony 
existing  between  him  and  his  people  never  having  been 
interrupted  or  broken;  rather  year  after  year,  there 
were  an  ever-increasing  confidence,  cooperation,  and 
friendship. 

His  theology  was  the  theology  of  the  Bible.  This 
was  the  book  which  he  studied  and  over  which  he 
pored  and  prayed  to  the  end  of  his  days.  In  the  stead- 
fastness and  hold  of  his  reliance  on  its  truths  as  from 
God  was  the  hiding  of  his  power.  He  found  in  it,  and 
loved,  the  "doctrines  of  grace"  clustering  around  the 
work  and  offices  of  Christ,  and  these  he  preached  and 
practised  with  believing  earnestness  to  the  end  of  his 
days. 

To  kindness  and  courtesy  he  united  sincerity, 
frankness  and  humility,  with  a  deep  and  heartfelt  inter- 
est in  the  welfare  of  everybody  around  him. 

As  the  years  went  on,  four  sons  and  one .  daughter 
came  to  fill  the  home  with  glad  activity,  William, 
Gerard,  Leavitt,  Homan,  and  Martha,  the  only  sister. 

Partly  to  supply  an  educational  want,  partly  to  meet 
the  exigencies  of  a  growing  family,  the  pastor  became 
teacher,  receiving  scholars  under  his  own  roof  For 
many  years  he  was  rarely  without  them.  Three  hun- 
dred and  four  young  people  thus  came  under  his  ex- 


THE  EARL  Y  HOME.  9 

cellent  training  :  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  of  whom 
entered  college ;  fifty  became  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
seven  went  as  missionaries  to  foreign  lands,  while  others 
entered  into  various  callings,  which  they  adorned  by 
public  and  private  worth. 

Many  had  their  education  at  a  cost  little  over  a  dol- 
lar a  week ;  those  especially  who  were  poor  and  aiming 
at  the  ministry,  received  not  only  a  father's  sympathy 
and  counsel,  but  pecuniary  aid  as  well.  Some  began  a 
religious  life  under  his  instruction ;  others  frequently 
assisted  him  in  pastoral  work ;  all  acknowledged  the 
elevating  power  of  his  practical  piety.  But  one  of  this 
large  number  died  while  an  inmate  of  his  family,  and 
this  was  the  only  death  which  occurred  in  his  house  for 
forty  years. 

It  is  interesting  to  recall  the  names  of  those  who 
went  abroad  at  that  early  day  to  lay  the  foundation  ol 
Christian  institutions  in  pagan  lands,  receiving  as  they 
must  have  done  some  of  their  best  lessons  in  practical 
wisdom  as  well  as  their  warmest  impulses  In  Christian 
consecration  in  the  humble  parsonage  at  Plalnfield. 

We  find  Rev.  James  Richards  In  Ceylon,  and  his 
brother  William  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  sons  of  a 
beloved  deacon  of  the  pastor ;  Levi  Parsons  and  Pliny 
Fiske  exploring  Palestine  and  bringing  it  nearer  than 
ever  before  to  Bible  readers ;  Jonas  King  laboring  In 
Syria  and  in  Greece ;  William  Ferry  among  the  Amer- 
ican Indians,  and  Homan  Hallock,  missionary  printer 
in  Smyrna. 

Mr.  Hallock  cherished  habits  of  more  familiar  inter- 

Dr.  Hallock.  1 


lo  ZVv\   IV/LLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

course  with  his  children  than  was  perhaps  common  at 
that  time.  He  early  led  them  to  consider  their  inter- 
ests identical  with  their  parents'.  As  soon  as  the  sons 
were  old  enough  to  think  and  act,  he  consulted  them 
about  the  various  labors  of  the  farm,  leading  them  to 
plan  and  carry  out  their  plans,  as  if  everything  depend- 
ed upon  their  own  foresight  and  diligence. 

The  thrift  and  self-reliance  which  dignified  this  pas- 
tor's home  are  happily  illustrated  in  the  father's  reply 
to  his  eldest  son,  who  on  one  occasion  wished  to  relieve 
the  family  purse  by  seeking  aid  to  pursue  his  studies 
from  some  charitable  fund  for  this  purpose. 

"Letters  from  you  are  always  welcome,  my  dear 
son,  but  your  present  request  for  '  credentials '  will 
not  be  so  readily  granted.  Children  should  not  beg 
bread  so  long  as  their  parents  have  enough.  It  is  now 
nearly  six  years  since  I  entered  you  and  your  brother 
Gerard  at  Williams  college.  I  had  given  you  to  the 
Lord,  and  I  believed  he  would  support  you.  He  has 
so  wonderfully  prospered  us,  that  all  your  expenses 
were  paid  in  good  season  and  without  the  least  per- 
plexity. *  The  barrel  of  meal  wasted  not,  neither  did 
the  cruse  of  oil  fail.'  His  kindness  continues.  Beg  of 
the  Lord  continually,  but  ask  not  of  man  till  you  are 
suffering  from  v/ant.  If  your  name  is  already  given  as  a 
beneficiary,  take  the  first  opportunity  of  having  it  erased." 

"  It  has  long  delighted  me,"  said  the  good  man  on 
another  occasion,  "  to  see  what  interest  my  children 
take  in  each  other.  Each  child  is,  as  it  were,  a  parent 
to  all  the  rest.     I  hope  and  trust  this  mutual  love  will 


THE  EARL  Y  HOME.  1 1 

continue.  It  is  very  pleasant.  It  is  useful.  It  is  hon- 
orable. May  we,  parents  and  children,  love  the  Lord. 
There  is  enough  in  Christ  to  make  us  all  happy,  if  we 
have  a  holy  relish  for  what  is  provided  for  us." 

Nor  is  this  touch  of  farm-life  without  a  tender  inter- 
est: "I  lately  went,"  he  wrote,  "into  the  forest  where 
William  and  I  gathered  the  dry  wood  for  winter.  I 
went  to  the  brook  where  we  drank,  and  to  the  tree  that 
had  fallen  over  it,  on  which  we  sat  and  ate  our  cold  din- 
ner together  and  acknowledged  God." 

It  was  from  a  home  like  this  that  the  subject  of  the 
following  sketches  came  to  take  his  place  and  do  his 
part  in  forming  and  fostering  one  of  the  great  Christian 
institutions  of  the  century — the  American  Tract  Society. 

With  such  a  nurture,  we  might  naturally  expect  to 
find  this  eldest  son  of  the  pastor  early  entering  the 
church  fold. 

Not  so,  however;  partly,  perhaps,  because  children 
were  not  then  thought  capable  of  apprehending  the 
nature  of  either  the  sacraments  or  the  vows  of  the 
church;  partly  because  "conversion"  was  beset  with  a 
greater  degree  of  ideal  distress  and  deliverance  than 
the  common  experience  of  most  children  in  Christian 
families  was  able  to  reach.  Short  of  this  many  a  thought- 
ful and  earnest  young  person  has  suffered  years  of  delay 
to  go  by,  shorn  of  the  help  and  strength  which  the  com- 
munion and  fellowship  of  the  church  would  have  afford- 
ed them. 

William  looked  for  a  marked  and  sudden  change  in 
his  inner  life,  which  never  came,  and  he  reached  man- 


12  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

hood  "  secluded  from  the  hopes  and  privileges  of  the 
child  of  God."  Indeed,  he  gave  up  his  early  classical 
studies,  feeling  that  they  would  be  not  only  no  benefit 
in  this  world,  but  would  rather  "  enhance  his  misery  in 
the  world  to  come;"  relinquishing  study,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  labors  of  the  litde  farm. 

At  twenty,  through  much  heart-searching,  fasting, 
and  prayer,  a  desire  for  a  college  course  again  sprang 
up  in  his  mind.  His  father  joyfully  cherished  it,  per- 
ceiving in  it,  with  a  father's  discernment,  the  "  new  life" 
of  his  beloved  child.  He  resumed  his  neglected  stud- 
ies, entered  Williams  College,  and  in  1819,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class. 

Doubting,  fearing  lest  he  had  never  been  "  savingly 
converted,"  he  yet  steadily  set  his  face  towards  the  the- 
ological seminary  at  Andover,  even  then  expecting 
from  without  that  confirmation  of  his  hopes  which  only 
personal  steadfastness  in  faith  can  ever  make  sure. 

It  has  been  said  that  "  men  of  every  class  who  have 
done  something  creditable  ought,  being  trustworthy 
and  honest  men,  to  write  their  lives  with  their  own 
hand."  However  doubtful  a  latitude  this  might  give, 
we  have  a  journal  of  Mr.  Hallock,  kept  during  a  period 
when  events  most  shape  and  impress  the  character, 
which  gives  a  more  vivid  portrait  of  the  man  and  his 
time  than  the  truest  pen  of  another  could  do. 

As  far  as  the  journal  goes,  it  is  only  supplemented 
by  occasional  statements  intended  to  bring  into  brighter 
relief  the  events  which  are  recorded. 


LIFE  IN  ANDOVER.  13 

CHAPTER    II. 
LIFE  IN  ANDOVER. 

William  A.  Hallock  entered  the  seminary  at 
Andover,  November  3,  181-9.  A  question  of  duty  soon 
confronted  and  deeply  agitated  him.  *'  I  owe  to  Christ 
and  his  cause  the  full  consecration  of  all  my  powers,  yet 
I  have  never  publicly  consecrated  myself  to  him.  All 
through  my  four  years  of  college  I  have  never  avowed 
myself  his.  Is  this  reserve  for  ever  to  continue  ?  I  will 
go  now  to  the  professors  of  the  seminary,  tell  them  my 
story,  and  ask  their  counsel  as  to  my  duty." 

"Andover,  Jan.  16,  1820.  Sabbath  morning.  This 
day  I  have  devoted  to  fasting  and  prayer,  that  God  will 
prepare  me  to  come  out  from  the  world ;  that  he  will 
assist  my  parents  in  their  consideration  of  the  letter  I 
have  written  them,  to  give  me  such  an  answer  as  shall 
be  for  his  glory. 

"  Feb.  13.  Sabbath.  The  last  day  of  January  I  re- 
ceived letters  from  my  father  and  mother  and  sister. 
The  spirit  of  tender  concern  which  their  letters  breathe, 
and  the  earnest  desire  which  they  express  for  my  spir- 
itual welfare  are  very  affecting.  Eight  days  ago  I  com- 
municated to  Brother  Richards  my  desire  of  uniting 
with  the  church.  On  Tuesday  I  consulted  Professor 
Porter,  the  friend  of  my  uncle.  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock, 
and  my  father.      Yesterday  I  met  the  officers  of  the 


14  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

church,  and  conversed  with  them  with  great  freedom, 
and  to-day  I  have  been  propounded. 

"  March  3.  This  day  is  set  apart  in  the  seminary  as 
a  day  of  fasting,  humihation,  and  prayer.  The  occasion 
renders  it  highly  interesting  to  me,  as  I  expect  this 
afternoon  to  enter  into  covenant  with  a  holy  God  to  be 
his  for  ever.  I  desire  to  feel  that  the  privilege  is  un- 
speakably great,  and  the  transaction  unspeakably  sol- 
emn. Since  I  was  examined,  I  know  not  that  I  have 
seen  a  moment  when  I  wished  to  undo  what  I  have  now 
done. 

"  And  now,  glorious  Redeemer,  do  thou  prepare  my 
heart  so  to  give  myself  away  as  to  have  thy  gracious 
acceptance.  Thou  wilt  be  my  Judge.  Be  now  my 
Advocate,  my  Sanctifier,  my  all. 

"  Sabbath  evening.  When  I  proposed  joining  this 
church,  I  expected  to  be  alone,  but  there  were  ten  who 
united  with  me:  Brothers  Prentiss  and  Pigeon,  and 
eight  from  the  academy  and  the  neighborhood.  Rev. 
Dr.  Woods  preached  from  the  text,  *  What  mean  ye  by 
this  service  ?'  The  discourse  was  very  appropriate,  and 
the  communion  season  an  hour  of  peculiar  solemnity. 
Thus  have  I  taken  the  vows  of  God  upon  me,  and  I 
cannot  go  back.  Blessed  Redeemer,  keep  me  as  in  the 
hollow  of  thy  hand.  May  I  come  off  conqueror  through 
Him  that  loved  me  and  gave  himself  to  die  for  me. 

"March  27.  This  day  has  brought  interesting  In- 
telligence :  the  death  of  Hon.  Peter  Bryant.  The  mis- 
sionaries Fiske  and  Parsons  have  safely  arrived  at  Smyr- 
na.     Brethren  Winslow,    Spaulding,   Woodward,    and 


LIFE  IN  ANDO  VER.  1 5 

Scudder,  with  their  wives,  have  arrived  at  Ceylon,  and 
their  labors  on  the  passage  were  so  blessed  to  the  crew, 
that  on  their  arrival  all  but  one  were  hopefully  convert- 
ed. Rev.  Mr.  Meigs'  interpreter  has  professed  faith  in 
Christ.  The  members  of  Mr.  Meigs'  school  are  calling 
on  him  and  inquiring  for  the  way  of  salvation.  Mr. 
Farrar,  the  treasurer,  has  received  from  a  benevolent 
donor  good  news  as  to  a  new  building  for  this  semi- 
nary. Four  have  obtained  a  hope  in  Hamilton  college, 
and  seven  are  inquiring ;  twenty  have  a  hope  in  Union, 
and  thirty  inquiring ;  one  hundred  have  been  admitted 
to  the  church  in  Stillwater.  Such  is  the  news  of  Zion's 
prosperity  which-,  has  greeted  our  ears  in  one  day ;  we 
hear  good  news  also  from  several  other  colleges.  Light 
seems  to  be  dawning  in  Dartmouth,  Bowdoin,  and  Brown 
University. 

"  April  29.  I  have  been  reading  the  life  of  Samuel 
J.  Mills.  What  is  my  duty?  Oh,  help  me  to  devote 
myself,  my  God,  to  thee.  Give  me  faith ;  give  me  zeal ; 
give  me  prudence ;  give  me  strength. 

"June  15.  The  spring  vacation  of  six  weeks  I 
have  spent  very  pleasantly,  and  I  hope  profitably,  in 
visiting  Martha's  Vineyard,  the  birthplace  of  my  mother. 
Her  father's  farm  in  Chilmark,  the  western  town  of  the 
island,  lies  on  the  south  side,  where  the  broad  Atlantic 
rolls  its  perpetual  waves,  nearly  opposite  the  island  of 
'  No  Man's  Land.'  In  this  visit  many  narratives  which 
entertained  me  at  my  mother's  knee  were  made  real. 
Among  my  relatives  on  the  island  are  the  descendants 
of  the  Missionary  Mayhews  of  five  successive  genera- 


i6  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

tions,  whose  name  is  embalmed  in  the  annals  of  the 
churches. 

"Andover,  Jan.  i,  1821.  The  Lord's  Supper  was 
administered  yesterday,  and  this  evening  I  have  attend- 
ed the  Concert  of  Prayer.  I  have  just  heard  from  my 
parents  and  sister  and  brothers,  and  have  much  occa- 
sion for  thankfulness  that  the  descent  of  my  parents  in 
the  vale  of  years  is  so  peaceful  and  happy,  and  that  I  am 
enjoying  all  the  blessings  of  this  seminary.  My  brother 
Gerard,  my  classmate  and  roommate  in  college,  is  pass- 
ing his  second  year  giving  instruction  in  the  academy 
at  Amherst. 

"  March  18.  Rev.  Mr.  CorneHus  preaches  In  the 
chapel  to-day.  God  is  sparing  my  life  to  enjoy  pre- 
cious privileges.  My  studies  are  delightful  and  inti- 
mately connected  with  my  usefulness  as  a  minister.  My 
class  is  now  on  the  subject  of  Moral  Agency.  I  recite 
frequently  to  Professor  Gibbs  in  the  Greek  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  have  been  much  occupied. in  preparing 
a  dissertation  for  the  Society  of  Inquiry,  on  the  '  Influ- 
ence of  Heathen  Religions  on  Moral  and  Intellectual 
Character.'  I  have  also  the  privilege  of  membership  in 
a  literary  society,  composed  chiefly  of  gentlemen  resi- 
dent here,  besides  other  societies,  and  all  the  pubHc 
exercises  of  this  institution. 

"Plainfield,  May  5.  Gerard,  still  Preceptor  of 
Amherst  Academy,  has  made  us  a  fine  visit  of  three 
days.  Our  own  family,  father,  mother,  four  sons  and 
one  daughter,  breakfasted  by  ourselves  this  morning. 
It  was  entire.     Death  has  as  yet  made  no  breach  In  it. 


LIFE  IN  A  ND  0  VER.  1 7 

We  sang  the  Farewell,  and  united  in  committing  our- 
selves into  the  hands  of  a  kind  and  guardian  God. 
Shall  we  ever  meet  again  ?     God  only  knows. 

"  May  18.  President  Moore  and  lady  dined  with  us 
to-day.  He  brought  an  official  letter  requesting  me  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  place  of  Tutor  Porter  in  Williams 
College  the  ensuing  year.  I  know  not  what  my  answer 
should  be.  I  intend  taking  the  counsel  of  my  father 
and  brother  Gerard,  and  the  professors  at  Andover. 
May  my  course  be  directed  from  on  high. 

"July  I.  In  the  week  now  closed  I  attended  the 
General  Association  of  Massachusetts  at  Haverhill. 
Dined  at  Mrs.  Atwood's  in  company  with  the  profes- 
sors of  this  seminary,  Rev.  Sereno  E.  Dwight  and  wife 
of  Boston,  and  Professor  Gibbs.  There  are  many 
charms  attached  to  the  former  residence  of  Harriet 
Newell. 

"  I  have  concluded  not  to  accept  the  proposition  to 
spend  my  next  year  as  tutor  in  Williams  College. 

"  I  have  been  writing  a  dissertation  on  the  question, 
*  Whether  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  State  of  Rewards 
and  Punishments  is  Taught  in  the  Old  Testament,'  for 
the  '  Christian  Spectator,'  and  have  just  finished  an  ab- 
stract of  the  same,  to  be  read  at  the  ensuing  examina- 
tion. I  have  also  written  a  dissertation  on  the  '  Priest- 
hood,' to  be  read  before  a  literary  club  of  which  I  have 
been  elected  a  member. 

"  I  am  a  little  burdened  with  societies — Secretary  of 
the  Rhetorical,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Lock- 
hart  Musical  Society,  Treasurer  of  the  Auxiliary  Cor- 


i8  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

ban,  and  Committee  of  Recommendation,  Purchasing 
Committee  of  the  Athe^ieum,  Vice-President  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Inquiry,  treasurer  of  another  society,  agent  also 
for  purchasing  German  books.  They  do  not  all  make 
a  great  demand,  but  they  occupy  some  hours  every 
week. 

"  Gerard  has  just  written  that  he  intends  to  leave 
teaching,  and  to  spend  the  ensuing  year  with  me  in  this 
seminary.  My  brother  Leavitt  has  relinquished  the 
idea  of  obtaining  a  public  education.  My  brother  Ro- 
man, I  am  informed,  will  enter  Amherst  College  this 
fall.  In  the  welfare  of  these  brothers  I  have  a  deep 
interest.  What  greater  blessing  could  I  receive  than 
to  see  them  all  the  devoted  servants  of  Christ  ? 

"  I  have  been  doubting  where  to  spend  the  coming 
vacation.  I  might  take  a  school;  I  might  spend  it 
journeying;  I  am  invited  to  spend  it  in  Hallowell, 
Maine,  where  all  my  expenses  will  be  borne.  I  have 
been  requested  by  one  of  the  trustees  of  Amherst  '  Col- 
legiate Charity  Institution '  to  hold  myself  ready  for  a 
tutorship  there.  I  have  no  expectation  of  going  to 
Amherst — a  school  will  wear  me  out  and  encroach  upon 
the  ensuing  term ;  journeying  is  too  expensive.  I  have 
determined  to  pass  the  vacation  in  Maine,  v/here  health 
and  experience  in  labors  for  Christ  may  be  acquired.  I 
shall  be  at  no  expense,  and  spending  my  time  in  reli- 
gious meetings,  visiting  for  religious  purposes,  etc.,  will 
be  beneficial  as  preparing  for  usefulness  both  in  an  in- 
tellectual and  moral  point  of  view.  I  desire  to  leave 
myself  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  cheerfully  to  follow  the 


LIFE  IN  AND  OVER.  19- 

indications  of  his  providence.  My  heavenly  Father, 
thou  seest  my  needs,  supply  them  out  of  thine  infinite 
fulness. 

"  October  4.  Arrived  at  Hallowell  to  pass  my 
vacation  assisting  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gillette.  I  have  found 
some  hearing  ears,  especially  among  those  who  do  not 
enjoy  the  stated  ministrations  of  the  sanctuary.  I  have 
often  found  it  pleasant,  and  never  irksome,  to  speak  in 
the  name  and  for  the  cause  of  Christ ;  and  have  only  to 
regret  that  I  have  no  more  heavenly  ardor  in  promul- 
gating his  truth. 

"  November  4.  I  leave  Hallowell  with  regret. 
Christian  friends  have  been  numerous  and  affectionate. 
They  have  laid  me  under  great  obligations.  May  the 
blessing' of  God  rest  upon  them  evermore. 

"  November  6.  Sloop  Liberty,  twenty-five  miles 
from  Portland.  I  left  Bowdoin  College  Wednesday 
p.  M.,  called  a  moment  on  Rev.  Asa  Cummings,  North 
Yarmouth  ;  dined  at  Rev.  Mr.  Whittemore's,  Falmouth  ; 
arrived  at  Portland,  three  p.  M. ;  called  five  minutes  on 
Rev.  Dr.  Payson,  nine  thousand  copies  of  whose  Ad- 
dress to  Seamen  are  now  in  the  press  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Tract  Society  ;  took  tea  at  Mr.  Cutler's,  and  heard 
Granville  Mellen's  eloquent  address  before  the  Mechan- 
ics' Association. 

"  At  nine  p.  M.  the  sloop  left  the  wharf,  and  never 
shone  a  brighter  moon.  In  the  morning  the  rising  of 
the  sun  from  mid-ocean  was  beautiful.  The  sea  was 
smooth  as  glass ;  before  sunrise  the  red  rays,  reflected 
from  the  western  sky  upon  the  water,  gave  its  whole 


20  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

surface  the  hue  of  a  mellow  purple.  At  length  the  sun 
rose  out  of  the  mighty  deep  in  full  splendor.  The 
White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  appeared  like  a 
white-capped  thunder-cloud  in  the  west,  towering  above 
everything  else.  Such  a  morning  I  never  beheld ;  but 
even  all  this  beauty  became  tiresome  for  the  lack  of  one 
thing — wind.  Fearing  what  would  come  next,  the  cap- 
tain made  sure  of  a  harbor  at  Cape  Porpoise.  I  had 
taken  my  berth  at  nine,  but  the  wind  becoming  fresh 
from  the  southeast,  at  one  I  rose,  went  on  deck,  and 
saw  that  a  storm  was  inevitable.  At  three  I  was  set  on 
shore  six  miles  from  Kennebunk.  I  walked  ten  miles 
before  I  saw  any  signs  of  sunrise,  and  at  York  the  rain 
and  the  United  States  mail-stage  overtook  me  together. 
The  rain  fell  in  torrents;  the  wind  blew  almost  a  gale; 
the  waves  dashed  terribly  on  the  shore.  The  ferry  at 
Portsmouth  was  dangerous.  I  reached  Newburyport 
in  safety,  rejoicing  all  the  way  that  I  was  neither  amid 
the  foaming  billows  nor  confined  at  Cape  Porpoise ;  and 
after  a  pleasant  Sabbath  arrived  at  my  room. 

"  Bartlett  Hall,  second  story,  southeast  corner,  An- 
dover,  November  17.  A  great  class  of  almost  sixty 
juniors  has  just  arrived.  Rev.  Prof.  Porter  is  at  the 
South  for  health.  Last  evening  my  class  received  a 
license  from  the  professors  to  preach  in  the  seminary. 
Thus  I  am  now  to  enter  on  this  great  work  to  which  I 
have  been  looking  forward.  May  I  quit  myself  like  a 
man. 

"  November  19.  Gerard  has  this  day  arrived  to 
spend  one  year  in  this  sacred  seminary;  I  have  been 


LIFE  IN  ANDOVER.  21 

very  anxious  that  he  should  be  here.  I  hope  that, 
through  the  grace  of  God,  all  his  religious  privileges 
here  will  be  the  means  of  advancing  his  spiritual  in- 
terests. 

"March  16,  1822.  The  present  is  a  season  I  wish 
long  to  remember.  Gerard  has  been  deeply  interested 
in  religion,  intent  upon  it,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  fitted 
to  be  useful  in  the  ministry,  and  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  He  has  laid  aside  his  books — all  but  his  Bible, 
and  Henry  Martin,  Davies,  and  kindred  works ;  he 
wanders  in  the  woods,  and  wherever  he  can  find  retire- 
ment. He  Is  tender,  he  is  earnestly  inquiring.  The 
Lord  be  praised. 

"Another  student  now  on  this  sacred  hill  is  deeply 
impressed.  Many  brethren  are  quickened,  and  some 
in  the  academy  are  serious.  There  are  also  some  hope- 
ful appearances  in  town.  Oh  that  God  would  come 
and  work  wonders  here,  as  he  has  in  many  places  in 
our  land.  New  Haven  and  Pittsfield  have  been  blessed 
with  almost  a  constant  revival  for  some  months. 

"Andover,  April  26.  I  yesterday  returned  from 
the  meeting  of  the  Londonderry  Presbytery,  by  whom, 
with  fifteen  others,  I  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 
The  occasion  was  one  of  deep  solemnity.  Brother 
Shed  and  I,  as  a  committee,  have  just  received  a 
letter  from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bardett  of  Newburyport,  in 
reply  to  our  acknowledging  his  kindness  in  furnishing 
us  with  the  new  seminary  building  (Bartlett  Hall)  which 
we  now  occupy.  He  expresses  much  friendship,  humil- 
ity, and  desire  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  seminary. 


22  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

"  As  to  the  coming  vacation,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
it  is  my  duty  to  spend  it  in  Hallowell,  and  can  only 
commit  my  way  to  God,  praying  him  to  make  me 
useful. 

"  May  6.  Monday  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  I  sailed 
from  Boston  in  the  schooner  Sea- Flower,  and  in  thirty- 
one  hours  she  lay  to  by  the  wharf  in  Hallowell. 

"I  preached  while  in  Hallowell  and  the  vicinity, 
written  sermons  on  twenty-two  occasions,  and  assisted 
or  took  the  lead  in  eight  other  meetings ;  in  all  thirty. 

"Andover,  June.  Having  returned  here,  I  have 
everything  to  be  thankful  for,  except  that  I  have  been 
no  more  faithful.  I  regret  to. leave  friends  in  Maine. 
Now  I  feel  that  a  life  of  activity  in  public  labors  is 
better  than  that  of  a  student  in  the  preparatory  course." 


FIRST  LABORS  IN  TRACT  WORK.  23 

CHAPTER    III. 

FIRST  LABORS  IN  TRACT  WORK. 

"July  26,  1822.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards,  secretary  of 
the  New  England  Tract  Society,  while  riding  on  horse- 
back to  visit  his  people,  stopped  and  called  at  my  room, 
to  say  that  the  Society,  having  had  no  agent  for  two 
years,  is  in  a  very  low  state  and  needs  reviving,  and  that 
it  must  have  some  one  from  the  senior  class  to  engage 
for  a  time  in  its  agency.  *  We  have  been  looking  over, 
the  class,'  he  said,  '  and  according  to  the  best  light  we 
have,  we  think  it  may  be  your  duty  to  labor  for  a  time 
in  this  department.  We  wish  you  to  think  of  it  and 
seek  for  light  and  direction  from  above.  My  duties 
are  pressing.     Good  morning,  sir.' 

"September  16.  I  have  resolved,  immediately 
after  closing  my  three  years'  course  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  to  visit  my  parents  and  then  engage  in  the 
service  of  the  Tract  Society.  My  success  in  furthering 
its  work  must  depend  on  the  aid  that  shall  be  given 
me  from  above. 

"  Brother  William  Richards,  my  classmate  and  fel- 
low-townsman, is  soon  to  leave  me  and  his  country  for 
the  Sandwich  Islands ;  and  my  class  are  to  separate  to 
the  four  v.inds,  many  of  them  on  missionary  ground. 

"September  26.  Thus  rapid  time  has  finally  closed 
my  connection  with  the  dear  Theological  Seminary. 
My  three  years  have  been  happy ;   but  I  cannot  feel 


24  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

that  I  have  made  such  acquisitions  of  divine  and  human 
knowledge  as  I  ought.  I  am  now  but  a  child  in  theology, 
a  child  in  knowledge,  and  a  child  (if  indeed  I  am  a 
child)  in  piety.  But  my  hours,  however  improved  or 
misimproved,  are  gone,  never,  never  to  be  mine  again. 
I  am  thrust  into  the  field,  and  I  have  only  to  implore 
the  divine  blessing,  and  go  forward. 

"  This  is  the  most  gloomy  day  of  my  life.  I  have 
been  into  the  chapel,  where  we  have  met  every  morning 
and  evening  for  devotion,  and  those  vacant  seats,  which 
I  and  my  scattered  classmates  are  never  to  occupy 
again — speak  a  language  such  as  no  tongue  can  utter. 
Dear  Richards,  the  friend  and  companion  of  my  child- 
hood and  youth !  I  sung  with  him  most  lovingly  and 
harmoniously  at  the  concert  last  evening ;  and  I  have 
sung  by  his  side  in  college  and  seminary,  morning  and 
evening,  for  seven  years;  he  has  prayed  with  me,  and 
told  me  my  faults ;  he  has  been  my  friend,  a  friend 
more  faithful  than  a  brother ;  and  we  have  been  togeth- 
er in  trouble  and' in  joy.  But  we  sing  together  no 
more,  we  part ;  God  make  us  faithful,  and  let  us  meet 
again — in  heaven  ! 

**  Brother  Brigham,  with  whom  I  have  roomed  in 
love  these  three  years,  will  go  to-morrow  first  to  Ken- 
tucky a  few  months,  and  then  on  a  mission  to  South 
America ;  and  my  other  classmates  are  dispersing  in  all 
directions.  But  I  must  take  courage,  inquire  into  the 
state  of  the  Tract  Society,  and  do  what  I  can  to  supply 
its  wants. 

"October  15.     Left  Andover  on  foot  to  visit  the 


FIRST  LABORS  IN  TRACT  WORK,  25 

neighboring  churches  and  raise  funds  for  the  Tract 
Society. 

"  November  21.  Returned  to  Andover  with  $419  15, 
having  visited  about  thirty  churches  in  the  vicinity,  my 
travelhng  expenses  being  just  thirty-four  cents  ! — all  for 
tolls  at  bridges  and  turnpike  gates.  Have  become  deep- 
ly interested  in  many  pastors  and  churches,  whose  kind- 
ness has  laid  me  under  obligations  of  lasting  gratitude. 

"  December  24.  I  have  now  remained  in  Andover 
more  than  a  month  ;  written  a  sermon  for  my  agency ; 
a  circular  to  the  Christian  public;  a  circular  letter  to 
the  agents  of  depositories  ;  an  article  on  *  Auxiliary  So- 
cieties ;'  another  inviting  friends  to  furnish  matter  for 
new  tracts ;  selected  the  '  Conversion  of  Mrs.  E.  Emer- 
son,' *  The  Splendid  Wedding,'  etc.,  for  new  tracts,  and 
spent  one  Sabbath  in  Dracut  and  one  in  Methuen. 

"  December  25.  Left  Andover  on  the  business  of 
the  Society,  and  visited  about  twenty  towns,  in  which 
the  cordial  cooperation  of  pastors  and  their  people  laid 
me  under  special  obligations. 

"January  31,  1823.  Have  remained  in  Andover 
sixteen  days,  writing  a  sermon,  making  a  list  of  life- 
members,  sending  circulars  to  every  town  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  writing  four  articles  for  the  '  Boston  Recorder.' 
Spent  one  Sabbath  in  Boxford ;  walked  home  Sabbath 
evening  ten  miles  in  damp  snow  and  took  a  severe  cold." 

"  Took  a  third  tour  in  Massachusetts  for  collecdng 
funds,  visiting  about  seventy  churches  (including  five 
within  the  boundaries  of  New  York),  receiving  for  the 
Society  about  $800. 

Dr.  Hallock.  A 


26  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

"  I  cannot  express  the  sacredness  and  tenderness  of 
the  tie  that  binds  me  to  the  hearts  of  the  pastors  and 
churches,  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  by  whom 
the  above  sums  were  contributed  to  this  blessed  cause. 
Most  of  them  I  shall  never  see  again  on  earth ;  but  I 
expect  to  meet  them  with  mutual  joy  and  thanksgiving 
in  a  brighter  and  better  world. 

"  Brother  Brigham's  mother  and  relatives  received 
me  as  if  I  had  been  an  old  friend.  At  Canton  I  sup- 
plied the  pulpit  of  my  revered  uncle,  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Hallock,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches. 

"  Visiting  my  parents  at  Plainfield,  I  had  great  pleas- 
ure in  supplying  my  father's  pulpit,  and  he  could 
hardly  consent  to  my  tarrying  only  for  one  Sabbath. 
Martha  is  devoted  to  the  service  of  Christ,  Leavitt 
seriously  considering  the  duty  of  publicly  professing 
faith  in  him,  and  Homan,  a  member  of  the  freshman 
class  in  Amherst  College,  was  one  of  twenty-two  hope- 
fully converted  in  a  revival  the  past  winter.  News 
has  just  been  received  that  Rev.  James  Richards,  mis- 
sionary in  Ceylon,  has  died  in  the  triumphs  of  faith. 

''June  2,  my  birthday.  A  good  Providence  has 
preserved  me  another  year,  and  I  can  truly  say  it  has 
been  crowned  with  loving  kindness.  All  that  I  have 
done  for  the  Tract  Society  has  been  a  joy,  every  pain 
I  have  been  called  to  suffer  for  it,  though  sometimes 
travelling  on  foot  by  night  amid  the  chills  and  snows  of 
the  New  Hampshire  hills,  is  sweet. 

"  A  letter  now  lies  on  my  table  urging  me  to  go 
to  Maine  and  attempt  to  build  up  a  church  in  Farming- 


FIRST  LABORS  IN  TRACT  WORK.  27 

ton.  I  am  also  requested  to  consider  the  state  of  the 
church  at  Buckland,  Mass.  A  hint  is  also  received 
from  New  Marlborough.  But  at  present  my  path  is 
plain,  though  I  hope  by-and-by  to  be  stationed  in  the 
ministry. 

"September  24,  1823.  It  is  now  a  year  since  I 
began  labor  for  the  Tract  Society.  '  I  have  been  con- 
stantly engaged  from  the  time  I  rose  in  the  morning 
till  late  at  night.  Besides  preparing  and  circulating 
9,000  copies  of  our  Annual  Report,  and  the  Christian 
Almanac,  a  somewhat  extensive  correspondence  has 
been  constantly  maintained;  new  tracts  have  been  se- 
lected, proofsheets  revised,  etc.  Four  young  men  of 
the  seminary  are  now  secured  to  devote  their  coming 
vacation  to  the  circulation  of  its  works. 

"  I  have  visited  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Washington,  with  a  special  view  to  the  issuing  of 
the  Christian  Almanac  in  each  of  those  cities  ;  confer- 
ring freely  with  the  officers  and  friends  of  the  Tract 
cause  in  reference  to  its  interests  in  those  cities  and 
throughout  the  land  and  world. 

"  Returning  to  Boston,  I  found  Gerard  engrossed  in 
establishing  a  weekly  religious  newspaper,  '  The  Boston 
Telegraph.' 

"Andover,  December  11.  I  returned  this  day  from 
a  tour  through  Boston,  Salem,  Newburyport,  etc.,  to 
increase  the  funds  of  the  Society.  In  Boston  had  a 
delightful  visit  with  Mr.  John  Tappan,  preached  twice 
for  brother  Green,  conducted  a  meeting  in  Park  Street 
Church,  and  dined  at  Thanksgiving  with   Mr.   David 


28  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

Hale  and  my  brother  Gerard.  Also  visited  Salem  and 
Nevvburyport.     Collected  in  the  tour  about  $550. 

"March  13,  1824.  Since  the  above  date,  I  have 
been  engaged  in  revising  the  series  of  tracts,  correcting 
all  the  new  editions  from  the  press,  procuring  cuts, 
making  inquiries  of  paper -makers  so  as  to  get  this 
costly  article  on  the  best  terms,  writing  for  the  religious 
newspapers,  and  maintaining  a  somewhat  extensive 
correspondence. 

"  I  have  now  almost  completed  the  revision  of  the 
first  five  volumes  of  tracts,  and  am  proceeding  with  the 
other  two,  when  I  expect  to  select  new  tracts,  publish 
the  *  Proceedings  of  the  First  Ten  Years  *  of  the  Soci- 
ety, the  Annual  Report,  and  the  Christian  Almanac  for 
1825. 

*'  December  18.  I  yesterday  returned  from  a  jour- 
ney to  my  father's,  to  attend  the  annual  Thanksgiv- 
ing. I  had  the  happiness  of  meeting  the  entire  family 
circle.  We  formed  a  perfect  union  of  sentiment  and 
views.     Religion  was  uppermost  with  us  all. 

"In  the  evening  we  sat  together,  and  told  to  each 
other,  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  what  we  hoped 
God  had  done  for  our  souls.  I  gave  my  father  assis- 
tance in  preaching  and  other  religious  meetings,  and 
spent  two  days  in  collecting  facts  in  the  history  of  the 
late  deacon  Joseph  Beals,  as  material  for  a  tract,  '  The 
Mountain  Miller.' " 

The  new  agent  is  already  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  stirring  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  issued  a  few 
months    before   he   entered   its   service,  in  which  Mr. 


FIRST  LABORS  IN  TRACT  WORK.  29 

Edwards  eloquently  urged  the  ease  with  which  it  might 
speak  to  millions  at  the  same  time ;  the  great  amount 
of  good  which  it  could  do  by  small  means;  the  seal  of 
God's  approbation  upon  the  work  already  begun.  "And 
who."  he  asked,  "  knowing  that  a  single  tract  put  in 
operation  all  the  Bible  Societies  of  Russia,  Sweden  and 
the  neighboring  countries,  could  fail  to  expect,  when 
he  stands  on  Mount  Zion,  to  see  the  multitude  which 
no  man  can  number  vastly  augmented  through  this 
humble  instrumentality  "  ? 

The  mother  of  the  modern  popular  tract  was  Han- 
nah More,  whose  "  Cheap  Repository  Tracts,"  written  in 
plain  language  and  simple  story,  were  widely  circulated 
and  read  in  England  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century. 
The  formation  of  the  Religious  Tract  Society  in  Lon- 
don soon  followed — 1792 — to  give  such  reading  to  the 
masses. 

Private  efforts  for  this  object  sprang  up  a  few 
years  later  in  several  parts  of  our  own  country.  Rev. 
Dr.  Proudfit  of  Salem,  New  York,  wrote  a  series  of 
small  books  which  Gen.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  and 
others  in  Albany  provided  funds  to  print  and  circulate 
especially  in  the  new  frontier  settlements. 

Rev.  Jedidiah  Morse,  of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  also 
printed  an  edition  which  were  sent  in  small  parcels  to 
new  settlers  in  Maine,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 

In  1803,  Governor  Samuel  Phillips  of  Massachusetts, 
through  the  persuasion  of  his  friend,  Dr.  David  Tap- 
pan,  Professor  of  Theology  at  Harvard  College,  gave  a 
thousand  pounds,  five-sixths  of  the  interest  of  which 


30  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

was  to  be  spent  in  circulating  "  pious  books  "  in  Ando- 
ver,  his  native  place ;  and  three  thousands  pounds  for 
"  a  more  general  distribution  of  like  pious  books."  From 
this  fund  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest  was  put  into  every  family 
in  Andover,  whose  influence,  Dr.  Justin  Edwards  said, 
"  was  like  that  of  a  gentle  revival  of  religion  throughout 
his  parish." 

In  1812,  Professor  Porter  of  Andover,  having 
bought  a  small  religious  book  at  a  very  high  price, 
turned  over  in  his  mind  how  to  lessen  the  cost  of  such 
books,  as  lessened  they  must  be  for  general  reading. 
He  brought  the  subject  before  a  small  circle  of  friends, 
who  met  at  his  study  every  Monday  evening  to  con- 
fer upon  the  subject  of  church  work.  A  plan  was  pro- 
posed, which,  striking  them  favorably,  they  endorsed 
by  generous  subscriptions.  Funds  were  readily  ob- 
tained from  others  discerning  its  wise  provisions,  until 
by  the  time  of  its  public  approval  at  Boston,  May, 
1 8 14,  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed 
and  more  than  two  thousand  already  spent  in  further- 
ance of  the  object.  The  new  organization  bore  the 
name  of  the  "  New  England  Tract  Society,"  subsequent- 
ly changed  to  "  American  Tract  Society."  Its  planning 
and  printing  were  done  in  Andover,  with  a  book  de- 
pository at  Boston. 

In  1 82 1  it  issued  its  first  edition  of  the  Christian 
Almanac,  prepared  by  Rufus  Anderson,  then  a  student 
at  the  seminary,  and  in  1824  it  ventured  on  a  small 
monthly  magazine.  Both  before  and  after  this  time, 
small  Tract  Societies  sprang  up  in  New  Haven,  Hart- 


FIRST  LABORS  IxY  TRACT  WORK.  31 

ford,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Vermont,  Cincinnati,  as 
well  as  in  New  York,  showing  the  widespread  mental 
and  spiritual  need  which  such  publishing  societies  were 
seeking  to  supply. 

The  New  York  Religious  Tract  Society  was  founded 
in  181 2.  In  its  sixth  year,  works  in  French  and  Span- 
ish were  added  to  its  list  of  publications.  A  "Female 
Branch  "  was  also  formed,  with  Mrs.  Divie  Bethune  at 
its  head.  Tract  work  soon  became  the  popular,  if  not 
the  only  channel  of  active  Christian  usefulness  for  the 
women  of  the  church  at  that  time,  upon  which  they 
entered  with  characteristic  ardor  and  fidelity. 


32  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

FORMATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  TRACT 
SOCIETY, 

"  From  the  time  of  becoming  thoroughly  enHsted  in 
tract  work,"  writes  Dr.  Hallock,  "  it  was  the  great  and 
legitimate  object  of  my  efforts  to  extend  its  influence 
throughout  the  United  States.  My  mind  was  upon 
every  movement  which  had  any  bearing  on  this  grand 
end,  whether  favorable  or  unfavorable.  I  felt  the  over- 
whelming embarrassment  of  a  location  in  a  retired 
country  village  like  Andover,  and  became  convinced 
that  the  seat  of  the  Society  must  be  removed  to  Boston. 
It  was,  however,  too  painful  a  subject  to  be  laid  before 
the  gentlemen  of  Andover  most  interested  in  it. 

"  Meanwhile  officers  of  the  New  York  Religious 
Tract  Society,  which  for  several  months  had  been  be- 
coming active,  conceived  the  idea  of  a  National  Institu- 
tion in  New  York ;  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Arthur  Tappan,  Dr.  James  C.  Bliss,  and  Rev.  Charles 
G.  Sommers,  were  appointed  to  address  the  American 
Tract  Society  at  Boston,  and  propose  to  them  to  remove 
their  whole  establishment  to  New  York,  and  become 
the  National  American  Tract  Society. 

"  Their  letter  dated  November  12,  1824,  was  brought 
to  my  room  by  my  friend  and  counsellor,  Rev.  Justin 
Edwards,  our  Society's  secretary,  who  dropped  it  on  my 


FORMATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY.  33 

table  saying,  *  There  is  a  letter  from  New  York.  They 
wish  us  to  remove  the  American  Tract  Society  on  there 
and  let  it  become  the  National  Society  in  New  York.' 

"At  these  words,  the  blood  rushed  through  my 
veins  from  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  sole  of  my  foot. 
Providence  seemed  to  have  gone  before  me,  and  it 
appeared  to  me  in  a  moment  that  the  concentration  of 
tract  work  in  New  York  was  what  God  designed. 

"The  Committee  directed  an  answer  inquiring 
whether,  in  case  of  a  removal,  the  people  of  New  York 
would  build  a  house  for  the  Society's  accommodation, 
and  would  retain  its  auxiharies,  depositories,"  members, 
etc.  The  reply  was  sufficiendy  satisfactory  as  to  their 
kind  and  liberal  intentions;  and  on  the  nth  of  January 
a  public  meeting  of  our  Society  was  held  in  the  vestry 
of  the  Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  when  the  letters 
were  read,  and  the  subject  fully  discussed  by  Rev.  Drs. 
Edwards  and  Woods,  Hon.  Samuel  Hubbard,  Jeremiah 
Evarts,  S.  V.  S.  Wilder,  Henry  Hill,  and  others,  and 
the  subject  was  referred  back  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, then  consisting  of  Rev.  Drs.  Edwards,  Church, 
Codman,  and  Fay,  and  Esquire  Blanchard. 

"That  committee  met  on  the  following  day,  and 
unanimously  '  Resolved,  That  William  A.  Hallock  be 
and  hereby  is  appointed  permanent  Agent  of  this  Soci- 
ety, with  a  salary  increased  to  $800' — showing  that  the 
committee  had  relinquished  the  idea  of  a  removal.  On 
my  return  to  Andover,  I  was  greeted  with  congratula- 
tions that  the  whole  subject  was  put  to  rest. 

"  It  was  not  put  to  rest,  however,  in  my  own  mind ; 

Dr.  Hallock.  C 


34  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  IIALLOCK. 

on  the  contrary  it  was  assuming  a  constantly  growing 
importance,  and  after  one  Sabbath  I  expressed  to  Mr. 
Edwards  my  most  decided  impression  that  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  should  give  the  whole  subject  further 
consideration.  A  special  meeting  was  then  called,  when 
I  presented  a  written  statement  of  the  clear  indications 
of  Providence  that  the  subject  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee demands  their  most  serious  consideration." 

"  I  begin  with  the  embarrassments  connected  with 
the  location  at  Andover,  namely:  that  of  125  deposito- 
ries, only  thirty-seven  can  obtain  tracts  as  conveniently 
from  Boston  as  from  New  York ;  and  of  those  thirty- 
seven,  only  two  can  obtain  supplies  at  Andover  as  con- 
veniently as  at  Boston ;  that  only  one-ninth  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  country  is  naturally'associated  with  Boston, 
and  only  one-twentieth  of  the  territory  east  of  the 
Mississippi ;  that  much  delay,  risk  and  expense  attend 
the  transmission  of  tracts  from  Andover,  an  interior 
town,  to  the  different  parts  of  the  United  States ;  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  Christian  community  have  now 
no  access  to  the  fountain-head  of  the  Society,  and  no 
city  has  the  stimulus  and  benefit  of  having  its  location 
among  themselves.  The  stereotyping,  the  engraving, 
and  the  circulation  of  the  Society's  Magazine  must  all 
be  done  at  a  distance ;  we  have  no  market  for  procu- 
ring paper,  and  the  town  being  so  small,  the  interests 
of  the  printers,  papermakers,  and  Executive  Commit- 
tee are  so  interwoven  as  to  embarrass  the  concerns  of 
the  Society;  while  in  a  large  city  there  might  be  a 
great  saving  in  the  publishing  department. 


FORMATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY.  35 

" '  That  further  embarrassment  arises  from  the  Socie- 
ty's connection  with  the  Theological  Seminary  mainly 
representing  one  Christian  denomination;  that  in  case 
of  the  removal  by  death  or  otherwise,  of  one  man,  Rev. 
Justin  Edwards,  now  of  Andover,  whose  aid  on  the 
Committee  is  a  very  principal  argument  for  the  present 
location,  few  would  consider  the  Society  more  safe  as 
to  the  evangelical  character  of  the  tracts,  than  if  located 
in  the  city  of  Boston  or  New  York. 

" '  We  have  considered  the  embarrassments  of  the 
present  location  a  reason  for  collecting  large  funds  for 
establishing  local  depositories  throughout  the  country  ; 
and  if  the  Society  can  be  essentially  freed  from  these 
embarrassments,  ought  we  not  to  lay  the  whole  state  of 
the  case  before  the  Christian  public,  that  all  may  give 
understandingly  ? 

" '  God  now  seems  opening  the  way  to  relieve  the 
Society,  and  give  it  opportunity  greatly  to  extend  itself. 
Shall  it  not  be  permitted  to  improve  this  opportunity  ? 

"  'The  present  is  a  most  important  crisis  in  the  tract 
operations  of  this  country.  A  National  Tract  Society 
is,  without  doubt,  to  be  formed,  and  it  is  of  vast  impor- 
tance to  do  all  we  can  to  give  it  a  truly  evangelical 
character.  There  is  an  excitement  in  the  public  mind 
in  favor  of  national  societies.  A  friendly  proposition  is 
now  made  to  this  Society  by  the  Society  in  New  York, 
on  the  acceptance  of  which  may  depend  the  character 
of  tract  operations  in  our  country  for  the  long  future. 

"'One  argument,  which  seems  to  me  to  outweigh  all 
suggested  at  the  public  meeting  of  the  Society,  is  that 


36  DK.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

by  uniting  these  societies  in  a  National  Institution,  we 
may,  to  all  human  view,  promote  a  union  of  feeling  and 
of  effort  among  Christians  of  various  denoininations . 

"  *  Another  argument  of  surpassing  weight  is  that,  to 
human  view,  the  Coviniittee  7nay  now,  by  one  act  of 
theirs,  be  the  instru7ne7it  of  enlisting  the  great  body  of 
Christians  throughout  all  our  territories  in  circulati?ig 
our  truly  evangelical  series  of  tracts. 

" '  This  Society  has  given  the  most  sacred  pledges  to 
the  Christian  public  that  it  is  laboring /<?r  the  whole 
country.  If,  when  a  National  Society  is  to  be  formed, 
we  refuse  to  unite  on  principles  such  as  we  ourselves 
would  wish  to  propose,  do  we  redeem  our  pledges  ?' 

"  The  Committee,  as  the  result  of  their  deliberations, 
sent  me  the  following  communication  : 

"  '  To  Mr.  Wm.  A.  Hallock,  Assistant  Secretary  ot  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society : 

" '  The  Executive  Committee  hereby  authorize  and 
commission  you  to  go  to  the  City  of  New  York,  and 
conduct  in  their  behalf  a  correspondence  with  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  New  York  Religious  Tract  Society. 

"  *  Wishing  you  the  guidance  and  blessing  of  God, 
we  affectionately  commend  you,  and  the  important  in- 
terests in  which  you  are  engaged,  to  his  infinitely  wise 
and  good  disposal. 

"'J.  EDWARDS, 
" '  Clerk  of  Ex.  Com.  Am.  Tr.  Soc. 

*"  Andover,  January  27,  1825.' 

"  Thus  instructed,  I  immediately  wrote  to  the  New 
York  Religious  Tract  Society,  proposing  that  they  be- 


FORMATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY.  37 

come  a  Branch  ;  and  February  3  I  visited  that  city.  I 
found  there  a  burning  love  for  the  tract  work  enkin- 
dled in  the  hearts  of  officers  and  friends  to  whom  God 
had  given  large  means.  Almost  daily  meetings  were 
held  for  consultation  and  prayer  at  the  house  of  Dr. 
Bliss,  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Garden  streets,  in 
which  Messrs.  Arthur  Tappan,  Moses  Allen,  Richard 
T.  Haines,  and  Marcus  Wilbur,  largely  participated, 
besides  several  distinguished  clergymen.  The  neces- 
sity of  a  building  large  enough  to  accommodate  the 
new  Society  was  deeply  felt,  and  several  generous  sums 
were  already  promised  for  it.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, viewing  the  tract  cause  as  one,  whether  in 
Boston  or  New  York,  having  evidence  that  there  was 
in  the  latter  city  the  proper  spirit  and  all  the  requisite 
qualifications  for  conducting  a  National  Society,  I 
paused  in  my  efforts  for  the  Society  at  Boston,  and  did 
all  I  could  to  organize  a  National  Society  in  New 
York. 

*'  It  was  a  striking  providence  that  March  and  a  part 
of  April  of  this  year  (1825)  was  the  season  immediately 
preceding  the  losses  by  the  cotton  speculation,  and  was 
perhaps  the  most  prosperous  commercial  period  in  the 
history  of  New  York  city.  Within  three  months  after, 
her  losses  were  immense,  her  commerce  depressed,  and 
to  have  raised  $20,000  for  a  Tract  House  would  have 
been,  to  all  human  view,  utterly  impracticable.  This 
was  unknown  to  us,  but  was  known  to  an  unerring 
Providence ;  and  let  his  hand  be  gratefully  recognized 
in  the  event. 


38  DR.   WILLIAM  A,  HALLOCK. 

"  A  meeting  was  called  March  ii,  at  the  City  Hotel, 
at  which  $12,500  were  immediately  subscribed,  and  a 
draft  of  the  Constitution  for  the  new  National  Society 
was  read  and  approved.  It  had  been  digested  with 
great  care,  and  was  in  some  respects  unlike  any  one 
that  had  preceded  it. 

"  While  its  object  was  *  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of  sinners,  and 
to  promote  the  interests  of  vital  godhness  and  sound 
morality,  by  the  circulation  of  religious  tracts  calculated 
to  receive  the  approbation  of  all  evangelical  Christians,' 
in  order  to  *  promote  in  the  highest  degree  these  ob- 
jects, the  officers  and  directors  shall  be  elected  from 
different  denominations  of  Christians ;  the  Publishing 
Committee  shall  contain  no  two  members  from  the 
same  denomination,  and  no  tract  shall  be  published  to 
which  any  member  of  that  body  shall  object.' 

"  Dr.  Milnor,  with  Dr.  Spring  and  many  others  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  supposed  a  union  to  pub- 
lish the  Bible  without  note  or  comment  was  about  as 
far  as  Christians  of  different  denominations  would  go. 
He  felt  far  from  sanguine  that  they  could  unite  in  a 
Publishing  Society  of  this  character ;  yet  he  expressed 
great  willingness  to  do  his  best  in  making  the  attempt. 

"  Immediately  after  the  meeting,  letters  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  principal  Tract  Societies  of  the  country, 
inviting  them  to  send  delegates  to  meet  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Society  on  Tuesday,  the  loth  of  May, 
to  confer  together  and  take  measures  for  the  final 
organization  of  a  National  Society. 


FORMATION  OF  THF  SOCIETY.  39 

"  By  the  last  of  March,  the  subscriptions  having  been 
raised  to  $20,000,  I  left  New  York  for  Andover,  where 
I  wrote  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  at  Boston, 
brought  up  the  correspondence  which  had  been  neg- 
lected, and  returned  to  New  York  to  attend  the  meet- 
ing of  delegates.  The  union  of  members  of  different 
denominations  was  a  deHcate  affair.  The  meeting  came, 
however,  to  an  harmonious  result,  and  the  crowded  and 
delightful  anniversary  of  the  next  day,  when  the  beloved 
and  eloquent  Summerfield  made  a  most  effective  ad- 
dress, which  was  the  last  that  ever  fell  from  his  heav- 
en-inspired lips,  calmed  the  minds  of  the  doubting,  and 
gave  the  friends  of  the  Society  fresh  ceurage. 

"  Returning  home  to  attend  the  anniversary  of  the 
Society  at  Boston,  May  25,  Drs.  Milnor,  Spring,  and 
Sommers,  delegates  from  New  York,  were  present  and 
took  part  in  its  exercises.  On  the  following  day  the 
meeting  for  business  was  attended  by  the  religious 
strength  of  New  England.  Full  and  free  discussions 
took  place,  when,  through  the  influence  of  Jeremiah 
Evarts,  Esq.,  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  D.  Griffin,  and  the 
delegation  from  New  York,  a  definite  resolution  to  be- 
come a  Branch  of  the  Society  at  New  York  was  intro- 
duced, and  after  three  hours  of  animated  debate,  con- 
ducted with  great  ability,  was  carried  without  a  dissent- 
ing voice.     Thus  everything  was  happily  adjusted. 

"  I  soon  returned  to  New  York  and  began  my  la- 
bors for  the  new  American  Tract  Society,  of  which  I 
had  been  elected  Corresponding  Secretary  and  appoint- 
ed General  Agent.     Dr.  Justin  Edwards  was  made  a 


40  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

member  of  its  Publishing  Committee,  with  Dr.  Mihior 
of  the  Episcopal  church,  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  Dr.  John  Knox  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  church,  Rev.  Charles  Sommers  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  Rev.  John  Summerfield  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal." 

"  It  is  a  great  consolation,"  wrote  Dr.  Hallock  on  a 
later  review  of  this  period,  "  that  in  looking  back  on  the 
intricate  way  in  which  I  have  been  led  in  Tract  Society 
arrangements,  I  see  no  important  steps  taken  which  I 
could  wish  to  retrace.  My  proceedings  on  my  first  offi- 
cial visit  to  New  York  were  somewhat  rash,  particularly 
in  enpfafifing:  at  oace  in  the  formation  of  the  new  Socie- 
ty ;  but  on  that  rashness,  if  such  it  must  be  called,  de- 
pended, under  God,  the  whole  character  and  history  of 
tract  operations  in  this  country  perhaps  for  years  to 
come. 

"  In  looking  back  on  the  working  of  my  own  mind 
in  relation  to  the  formation  of  the  new  American  Tract 
Society,  I  seem  to  have  been  driven  by  a  more  than 
natural  impetuosity.  The  concentration  of  effort  on  the 
plan  which  has  now  been  realized  seemed  to  me  vastly 
important,  as  enlisting  the  whole  body  of  evangelical 
Christians  throughout  all  our  territories  in  circulating 
the  most  truly  evangelical,  devotional,  and  excellent 
series  of  tracts  ever  issued ;  and  I  felt  that  I  must,  and 
it  would  seem  that  I  actually  did  pursue  it,  in  Divine 
strength,  with  all  my  might. 

"  Thus  far  the  hand  of  the  Lord  seems  to  have  been 
most  visibly  and  kindly  interposed.     What  he  "designs 


FORMATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY.  41 

for  the  future  I  know  not.  I  would  not  distrust  his  love 
or  his  mercy,  nor  yet  would  I  trust  presumptuously  that 
his  providence  will  always  direct  events  in  a  manner  so 
animating  and  cheering.  In  the  most  affectionate,  kind, 
and  cordial  meetings  of  our  several  Committees,  such  a 
spirit  of  prayer,  of  dependence  on  God  for  a  blessing, 
and  such  ardent  love  for  the  souls  of  men,  and  desire  to 
promote  their  salvation  appear,  as  to  give  great  assu- 
rance that  the  Lord  is  still  with  us,  and  that  if  we  pro- 
voke him  not  to  wrath,  his  kindness  will  still  follow  us." 

Mr.  S.  V.  S.  Wilder  of  New  York  was  chosen  Pres- 
ident of  the  new  organization. 

Mr.  Wilder  had  already  identified  himself  with  simi- 
lar work  abroad.  Some  years  before,  while  in  London, 
he  dropped  one  evening  into  a  small  church  where 
Rowland  Hill  with  Thomas  Burder  and  others  were 
holding  a  missionary  service.  The  contribution-plate 
not  reaching  the  back  pew  in  which  he  sat,  he  sent  it  a 
ten-pound  note,  which  proved  the  means  of  introducing 
him  to  the  ofificers  of  the  British  Bible  and  Tract  Soci- 
ety. On  being  asked  if  their  tracts  could  be  circulated 
in  Paris,  where  he  was  then  residing,  he  at  once  directed 
that  ten  pounds'  worth  be  sent  to  his  address.  The 
large  box  arrived  at  the  customhouse,  where  it  was 
seized  as  contraband,  and  he  was  summoned  to  account 
for  it.  "  Nothing  political  or  revolutionary,"  replied 
Mr.  Wilder,  handing  a  copy  of  the  books  to  each  one 
present.  Thus  suddenly  enhsted  in  tract  work,  his 
interest  in  it  never  flagged. 

Visiting  Mount  Calvary  near  Paris,  the  scene  of  an 


42  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

annual  Papal  festival,  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  ar- 
rested by  a  gendarme,  with  a  mob  at  his  heels,  for  dis- 
tributing "  those  vile  books."  "  No  vile  books  at  all," 
said  Mr.  Wilder,  turning  round  to  his  assailants  with 
stately  courtesy  of  manner.  "  I  am  distributing  the  Life, 
Death,  and  Resurrection  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  Will  you  allow  me  to  present  you  with 
one,  sir,  and  one  to  all  your  attendants?"  The  men, 
thus  unexpectedly  confronted,  accepted  the  books,  and 
suffered  the  polite  and  generous  stranger  to  pass  on 
unmolested. 

The  busy  merchant  was  no  less  a  busy  Christian. 
Mr.  Wilder  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Tract  House 
on  its  present  site,  corner  of  Nassau  and  Spruce  streets, 
May  26,  1825,  surrounded  by  a  large  and  enthusiastic 
crowd. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  TRACT  WORK.  43 


CHAPTER  V. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  TRACT  WORK— MARRIAGE 
—HOME. 

"  1826.  My  brother  Gerard,"  writes  Dr.  Hallock, 
"  having  left  the  '  Boston  Telegraph,'  received  propo- 
sals from  Sidney  E.  Morse  to  become  joint  editor  of  the 
'  New  York  Observer.'  He  has  completed  the  contract 
and  comes  to  New  York.  It  is  seven  years  since  we 
roomed  together  at  college,  and  he  is  now  to  share 
with  me  my  snug  quarters  in  a  corner  of  the  Tract 
House. 

"  August  26.  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  of 
three  weeks  to  my  parents.  For  the  sake  of  my  health 
I  took  a  horse  at  New  Haven,  visiting  on  the  way  the 
bereaved  family  of  my  venerated  uncle.  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Hallock,  who  departed  this  life  June  23,  1826,  aged  68. 
This  dear  uncle  was  eminently  a  man  of  God.  Bating 
all  my  partiality  to  him,  he  gave  me  evidence  of  higher 
attainments  in  piety  than  I  have  perhaps  ever  elsewhere 
observed.  His  annual  visits  at  my  father's  almost  made 
the  house  a  little  heaven  below.  Never  shall  I  forget 
suddenly  opening  a  chamber-door,  and  finding  him  and 
my  father  on  their  knees  pleading  with  God  for  my  own 
salvation,  the  floor  before  them  bearing  testimony  to 
their  flowing  tears.  He  always  prayed  that  he  might 
not  outlive  his  usefulness ;  and  having  faithfully  labored 


44  DR'   WILLIAM  A,  HALLOCK. 

in  the  ministry  forty  years,  the  same  period,  as  he  said, 
through  which  Israel  was  detained  in  the  wilderness,  he 
rested  from  his  labors.* 

**'  I  also  spent  a  night  at  New  Marlborough,  Mass., 
with  my  Andover  roommate,  Brigham,  who,  I  rejoice 
to  say,  is  about  to  come  to  New  York  as  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 

"  I  found  my  parents  well  and  happy.  Spent  one 
day  with  my  father  in  the  most  confidential  intercourse, 
as  we  were  repairing  fences  in  the  sugar  orchard,  which 
was  one  of  the  happiest  days  of  my  life. 

"October  17.  I  have  received  a  note  from  my 
brother  Homan,  stating  that  he  is  to  sail  for  the  island 
of  Malta  to  superintend  the  mission  press  there  estab- 
lished. I  cannot  but  esteem  it  a  privilege  and  an  honor 
thus  to  have  one  member  of  my  dear  father's  family  on 
missionary  ground. 

''June  2,  1827.  My  birthday.  I  am,  as  usual,  deluged 
with  business,  pushing  the  day  often  far  into  the  night, 
and  wholly  occupied  with  the  tract  cause  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  month  to  the  end  of  it.  The  Society 
prospers  greatly,  its  receipts  having  been  $30,000  du- 
ring the  year  ending  May  i,  and  its  issues  3,000,000  of 
tracts.  Little  did  I  expect,  when  coming  to  this  city, 
that  such  would  be  the  results  of  its  second  year. 

"  August.  Left  New  York  for  New  London,  Nor- 
wich, Boston,  Andover,  and  Plainfield.  In  each  of  the 
two  former  places  organized  a  tract  society,  in  Ando- 

*  See  Memoir  of  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock,  issued  by  the 
American  Tract  Society. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  TRACT  WORK.  45 

ver  secured  one  or  two  agents  for  the  Parent  Society, 
and  at  Plainfield  made  an  agreeable  visit  to  my  parents, 
who  are  now  in  the  midst  of  a  revival  of  religion. 

"  Monday,  May  24,  1828.  Visited  Boston  as  a  del- 
egate. Addressed  the  Tract  meeting  Wednesday  even- 
ing ;  and  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Committee,  at  which 
they  agreed  to  give  up  Rev.  O.  Eastman,  their  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  to  become  General  Agent  for  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

"  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  my  duty  to  leave  the 
crowded  Brick  church,  where  I  am  delightfully  situated, 
with  near  a  thousand  members,  under  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  and  join  the  en- 
terprise in  the  Bowery  church  for  those  more  desti- 
tute. 

"March,  1829.  I  have  preached  in  most  of  the 
churches  in  the  city  which  unite  in  supporting  the  So- 
ciety, and  obtained  donations  to  the  amount  of  about 
$7,000.  I  also  spent  a  fortnight  in  Albany  and  Utica, 
in  which  two  places  $1,800  were  raised,  and  a  week  in 
Hartford  with  Mr.  Charles  Hosmer,  secretary,  raising 
$1,100;  all  with  reference  to  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. This  object  at  the  present  time  excites  the  deep- 
est interest.  Brother  Eastman  left  this  city,  November 
17,  as  General  Agent  for  that  vast  field.  Three  others 
are  laboring  near  the  Ohio  river,  and  two  more  in  New 
Orleans  and  vicinity. 

"  Rev.  F.  Y.  Vail  has  lately  secured  in  Connecticut 
ten  subscriptions  of  $500  each,  in  response  to  a  propo- 
sition from  Hon.  Mr.  Tallmadge  of  Litchfield  to  give 


46  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

$500,  provided  ten  in  that  state  would  do  the  same  pre- 
vious to  March  i,  1829 — the  whole  of  which  $5,000  is 
now  secured. 

"  Harlan  Page,  our  Depositary,  felt  and  urged,  with 
the  consent  of  us  all,  that  the  bearer  of  a  tract  or  book 
must  open  his  mouth  and  labor  for  the  salvation  of  in- 
dividuals. We  are  now  making  a  vigorous  effort  to 
supply  every  family  in  this  city,  at  least  monthly,  with 
a  tract,  accompanied  by  kind  personal  efforts  for  the 
salvation  of  souls.  I  have  taken  the  responsibility  of 
the  Fourteenth  ward.  I  think  if  this  plan  can  be  thor- 
oughly carried  out  in  this  city,  it  will  set  an  example 
which  will  give  an  impulse  to  tract  operations  through- 
out the  country. 

"  Six  >veeks  ago  Gerard  was  applied  to  by  Mr.  Ar- 
thur Tappan  to  leave  the  '  New  York  Observer '  and 
become  editor  of  the  '  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce.' 
This  daily  business  paper  was  established  more  than 
one  year  since  with  reference  to  the  morals  of  the  city, 
on  the  ground  of  excluding  advertisements  of  lotteries, 
theatres,  and  ardent  spirits,  and  being  printed  without 
any  infringement  on  the  hours  of  the  Sabbath,  while  it 
should  be  a  paper  of  high  standing  as  a  journal  of  com- 
merce and  a  vehicle  of  the  news  of  the  day.  Mr.  Tap- 
pan  has  paid  nearly  $20,000  for  its  establishment,  and  a 
further  capital  of  $20,000  is  now  raised  by  him  and  oth- 
ers to  carry  it  forward. 

"  Norwich,  Conn.,  Nov.,  1828. 
"  My  respected  and  very  dear  Parents  :    I 
write  from  the  house  of  Charles  Lathrop,  Esq.,  who  was 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  TRACT  WORK.  47 

the  classmate  and  roommate  of  my  father  in  Yale  Col- 
lege. He  has  long  been  clerk  of  the  county  courts,  and 
is  a  deacon  and  pillar  in  the  church.  He  remembers 
you  with  much  interest,  and  Mrs.  Lathrop  says  he  has 
often  said  he  had  no  classmate  he  so  much  wished  to 
see,  and  he  now  sends  you  his  kindest  regards. 

"  Last  August  I  formed  a  large  tract  society  in  Nor- 
wich city,  and  then  called  on  Rev.  Dr.  Strong  of  Nor- 
wich town,  and  proposed  forming  a  ladies'  auxihary  in 
his  parish.  He  gave  me  the  names  of  three  young  la- 
dies whose  cooperation  would  be  desirable,  one  of  whom 
was  Miss  Fanny  Leffingwell  Lathrop,  a  daughter  of 
your  classmate.  I  thought  of  this  family  with  some  in- 
terest, and  spent  with  them  the  Connecticut  Thanks- 
giving. Their  oldest  daughter  married  Rev.  Miron 
Winslow,  and  has  long  been  an  active  missionary  in 
Ceylon.  They  were  with  Rev.  James  Richards  there, 
and  attended  him  in  his  death.  Fanny  is  the  oldest 
child  remaining  at  home,  and  has  three  younger  sisters, 
the  whole  family  being  devoted  Christians.  The  moth- 
er, a  sister  of  William  Leffingwell,  a  retired  merchant  of 
New  Haven,  is  an  intelligent  lady,  and  merits,  as  fully 
as  any  one  I  know,  the  high  and  honorable  appellation 
of  a  Christiaji  mother,  in  all  the  sacred  and  pleasant 
import  which  that  term  ought  to  convey,  and  ever  does 
convey  to  a  child  favored  with  such  a  mother  as  mine. 
Fanny  is  active  in  promoting  the  benevolent  objects  ot 
th-e  day.  Her  character  is  decidedly  domestic;  her 
pleasures,  cares,  and  labors,  being  chiefly  at  hofue, 
where  she  is  happy  in  the  circle  of  her  intimate  friends. 


48  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

She  is  neither  a  poet  nor  a  singer,  but  has  sound  dis- 
cretion and  intelligence,  and  I  think  an  unusual  sense 
of  propriety ;  and  verily,  if  I  would  undertake  to  say 
what  there  is  in  herself  or  the  family  that  could  be  con- 
sidered an  objection  to  a  connection  with  them,  I  know 
not  what  I  could  mention,  I  have  endeavored  to  think 
of  all  the  various  hints  my  father  has  from  time  to  time 
suggested  as  to  what  constitutes  the  true  excellence  of 
female  character,  and  I  surely  know  of  no  young  lady 
in  whom  I  beHeve  you  would  more  fully  confide." 

"Sept.  I,  1829  [his  wedding-day],  I  went  to  Nor- 
wich with  Gerard  and  his  wife.  We  met  the  beloved 
family  where  I  have  spent  many  of  the  happiest  hours 
of  my  life,  with  pleasant  anticipations  of  the  scene  before 
us.  On  the  same  day  our  cousin.  Rev.  George  B.  Whi- 
ting, and  his  expected  companion  on  a  foreign  mission ; 
Rev.  John  C.  Brigham,  Secretary  of  the  American  Bi- 
ble Society ;  Rev.  Seth  Bliss  and  lady,  Rev.  Mr.  Ever- 
est, Miss  Frances  M.  Caulkins,  and  among  other  friends, 
Hon.  Samuel  Hubbard  of  Boston,  joined  us.  The  ven- 
erable Rev.  Dr.  Strong  performed  the  marriage  ceremo- 
ny, offering  two  prayers  very  solemn  and  appropriate. 
On  the  morning  of  the  following  day  we  bade  farewell 
to  this  estimable  circle  of  Christian  friends,  who  from 
the  first  have  omitted  nothing  which  could  be  for  our 
happiness  or  endear  them  to  us,  and  took  our  departure 
to  visit  my  parents  at  Plainfield,  stopping  at  Canton, 
where  we  visited  the  grave  and  copied  the  epitaph  of 
my  revered  uncle,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock.     We  spent 


MARRIAGE.  49 

ten  days  at  Plalnficld  most  agreeably.  The  interviews 
with  my  revered  father  were  most  dehghtful  and  refresh- 
ing. He  spoke  of  them  frequently  as  a  source  of  satis- 
faction, and  the  day  before  we  left,  as  we  were  at  din- 
ner, said,  *  This  young  man  seems  to  me  quite  as  much 
like  brother  Jeremiah  as  like  my  son.'  Returning,  we 
spent  the  Sabbath  in  Bolton,  at  the  residence  of  S.  V,  S. 
Wilder,  Esq.,  President  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
and  I  preached  in  his  new  evangelical  church. 

"  New  York,  Oct.  4.  Thus  far  I  surely  find  a 
very  great  addition  to  the  happiness  of  life  in  a  cordial, 
sincere,  single-hearted,  unpretending,  affectionate,  devo- 
ted companion,  who  as  yet  has  caused  no  painful  emo- 
tion to  enter  my  heart,  but  a  sense  of  the  sacred  respon- 
sibility to  be  faithful  to  her  in  all  things  for  the  present 
and  the  future  life.  I  desire  to  receive  her  as  a  blessing 
lent  from  God. 

"January  i,  1830.  This  first  date  of  the  new  year, 
my  dear  parents,  I  devote  to  you.  I  intended  to  have 
written  you  on  Thanksgiving  day,  but  I  was  in  Balti- 
more, where,  and  in  Washington,  Georgetown,  and  Al- 
exandria, I  labored  for  the  tract  cause  three  weeks.  I 
therefore  have  seen  no  Thanksgiving  day  this  year, 
whereas,  two  years  since,  I  spent  one  at  Mr.  Lathrop's 
in  Connecticut,  and  another  here  the  following  week. 
My  dear  wife  understands  the  conduct  of  household 
affairs,  and  seems  to  me  to  be  all  that  can  be  desired  in 
a  faithful,  affectionate  wite.  My  numerous  friends  here 
have  manifested  every  expression  of  Christian  confi- 
dence, and  indeed  she  has  most  evidently  strengthened 

Dr.  Hallock.  7 


50  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

my  hands  in  fulfilling  all  my  public  and  official  respon- 
sibilities. She  is  active  in  our  Bowery  church,  supply- 
ing, with  Mrs.  Dr.  Peters,  about  150  families  with  the 
Bible  and  tracts,  and  joining  the  ladies  of  the  church  in 
making  garments  for  destitute  Sabbath  -  school  chil- 
dren. 

"June  2.  During  the  time  of  the  anniversaries  the 
past  month,  we  have  had  the  pleasure,  for  the  first  time 
since  I  came  to  this  city,  to  see  my  dear  father  and 
mother  here.  They  tarried  with  us  eight  days,  and 
made  a  visit  exceedingly  agreeable  to  us,  and  appa- 
rently not  less  so  to  them.  At  the  same  time  we  had 
the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  father  and  mother  Lathrop, 
so  that  ottrfour  parents  met  each  other  here,  and  our 
two  fathers  very  agreeably  revived  the  friendships  of 
classmates  and  roommates  in  Yale  College. 

"  March  13,  1831.  We  were  called  to  part  with  our 
honored  father  Lathrop.  My  dear  wife  and  I  were  in- 
formed that  he  was  more  feeble,  and  went  with  all  the 
haste  that  a  snowstorm,  cutting  off  the  usual  convey- 
ance by  land  or  water,  allowed ;  we  arrived  the  morn- 
ing after  the  burial,  to  sympathize  with  a  mourning 
widow  and  fatherless  children. 

*'  Though  externally  attentive  to  the  duties  of  reli- 
gion, he  had  no  evidence  of  vital  piety  till  about  the 
year  1807,  when  he  was  led  to  feel  its  importance  by 
perceiving  in  his  oldest  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Winslow 
of  the  Ceylon  Mission,  a  serious  concern  for  her  soul's 
salvation.  In  April,  1808,  on  the  day  when  this  daugh- 
ter was  twelve  years  old,  both  parents  were  enabled, 


HOME,  51 

with  her,  to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  Redeemer  by 
a  pubHc  profession  of  their  faith  in  him. 

"  He  seemed  to  feel  more  than  most  men  the  import 
of  the  resolution  of  Joshua,  '  As. for  me  and  my  house, 
we  will  serve  the  Lord ;'  and  the  seasons  of  morning 
and  evening  family  worship  were  evidently  among  the 
happiest  seasons  of  his  hfe." 


52  DR.  WILLIAM  A,  HALLOCK. 

CHAPTER    VI. 
FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES. 

"  New  York,  April  12,1 832.  My  dear  parents :  Our 
precious  little  daughter,  Martha,  is  dying  in  her  moth- 
er's arms !  I  cannot  tell  you  how  sorely  grieved  we 
are  to  part  from  her ;  but  God  so  comforts  and  sup- 
ports us,  that  we  can  say  from  the  heart,  'He  deals 
graciously  with  us.'  When  returning  wearied  from 
my  daily  toil,  her  sweet  smile  and  the  loving  pat 
of  her  little  hand  on  my  face  were  a  real  refreshment 
to  me. 

"  Five  o'clock,  p.  m.  At  noon  the  dear  child  sweetly 
breathed  out  her  spirit  to  God.  I  took  her  little  hand 
in  mine  and  we  commended  her  to  her  Saviour  as  she 
took  her  everlasting  flight. 

"  May  13.  I  have  just  been  on  a  visit  to  the  prin- 
cipal churches  from  Utica  to  Buffalo,  especially  to  enlist 
them  in  the  work  of  systematic  tract  visitation.  We 
have  made  arrangements  for  supplying  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  counties  in  Western  New  York  with  tract  visita- 
tion to  every  family  monthly,  accompanied  by  personal 
labors  for  individual  souls.  Five  members  of  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary  are  engaged  for  five  counties. 
One  man  has  engaged  to  supply  a  county  of  3,000 
families  monthly  for  a  year,  another  to  furnish  the 
tracts  for  another  county  for  three  months ;   others  to 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES.  S3 

visit  and  organize  counties  into  districts,  etc.  I  find  in 
Western  New  York,  many  decided  friends,  and  many 
places  almost  destitute  of  faithful  preaching  and  other 
means  of  grace.  The  moral  desolations  of  this  wide 
field  cause  my  heart  to  bleed.  I  wish  I  could  stay  and 
labor  here  for  months. 

"  Brother  Eastman  has  accepted  the  appointment  of 
Visiting  and  Financial  Secretary.  We  hope  to  adopt 
a  resoludon  at  the  coming  anniversary  to  proceed  im- 
mediately and  systematically  in  supplying  our  whole 
country ;  contributions  have  been  coming  in  from  vari- 
ous sources :  the  churches  seem  awakening,  and,  all  in 
all,  I  think  I  have  never  seen  a  period  of  so  deep  inter- 
est in  the  tract  cause. 

"June  2.  It  gives  me  great  joy  that  we  have 
been  able  to  appropriate  $5,000  for  foreign  and  pagan 
lands.  I  am  now  writing  duplicate  letters  to  all  the 
principal  foreign  missionary  stations  supported  from 
this  country,  and  I  hope  God  will  open  the  way  for 
yet  more  liberal  appropriations  in  time  to  come. 

"July  7.  I  have  had  much  satisfaction  in  being 
elected  a  member  of  a  ministers'  meeting,  a  delightful, 
harmonious,  confidential  circle,  who  love  the  Lord  Je- 
sus. We  meet  weekly  at  each  other's  houses,  and  pray 
and  converse  in  order  on  important  topics.  I  have 
greatly  needed  such  brotherly  intercourse  ever  since  I 
have  been  in  the  city.  My  labors  so  utterly  engross 
time  and  thought,  that  I  need  such  Christian  fellowship 
on  subjects  connected  with  the  general  prosperity  of 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom." 


54  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

For  forty-eight  years  Dr.  Hallock  attended  this 
gathering  of  "  Christian  Brethren,"  always  anticipating 
with  pleasure  the  recurrence  of  the  Saturday  evening 
hour,  and  receiving  therefrom  much  stimulus  and  cheer 
in  his  Christian  life.  He  and  Rev.  Dr.  Cox  were  for 
many  years  the  oldest  members  of  "Chi  Alpha,"  and 
they  left  it  for  their  home  above  on  the  same  day. 

"July  4,  1833.  For  some  weeks  past  we  have  been 
quite  a  missionary  family.  Brother  and  sister  Hutch- 
ings,  soon  to  sail  for  Ceylon,  and  sister  Harriet  with 
Rev.  Mr.  Perry,  her  expected  husband,  destined  for 
the  same  mission,  have  met  under  our  roof  We  held 
frequent  prayer-meetings  and  were  full  of  business. 
The  interviews  were  very  cheering  and  delightful. 

"July  24.  Brother  and  sister  Hutchings  left  us  for 
Boston  to  take  ship  for  Ceylon.  They  were  truly 
happy  in  thus  consecrating  themselves.  Elizabeth 
showed  unswerving  attachment  to  the  great  mission- 
ary cause,  and  trust  in  God.  We  feel  thankful  to  be 
thus  identified  with  the  work  of  foreign  missions.  May 
God  give  us  more  and  more  a  true  missionary  spirit.     • 

"June  12,  1834.  This  is  a  day  of  great  interest  in 
tract  work.  The  facts  in  our  9th  Report  are  of  over- 
whelming Interest.  God  speaks  to  us  to  go  forward, 
and  the  churches  echo.  Go  forward.  God  help  us  to 
do  it.  I  never  felt  such  courage  to  labor ;  never  that 
grace  and  glory  to  the  church  were  so  near  at  hand. 
To  recount  God's  blessings  would  be  endless.  I  might 
mention : 

"  I.  The  wide  opening  fields  for  tract  labor,  espe- 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES.  55 

dally  ill  pagan  lands — the  manifest  voice  of  God  calling- 
on  us  to  enter  them,  and  his  blessing  descending.  Also 
the  interest  awakened  for  supplying  the  South  and 
other  portions  of  our  own  country  with  our  precious 
volumes,  as  the  *  Saint's  Rest,'  etc.,  a  work  which  we 
have  slowly  approached,  but  to  which  I  could  not  but 
attach  great  importance  even  before  I  had  completed 
my  Theological  course  of  study. 

"  2.  The  cooperation  of  Brothers  Eastman  and 
Woodbridge  in  presenting  the  cause  to  the  churches, 
and  the  interest  everywhere  awaking  in  this  work. 

"  3.  My  own  health  and  vigor,  which  render  labor 
pleasant,  and  enable  me,  I  hope,  to  make  each  hour's 
effort  more  successful  than  ever  before. 

"June  23.  Last  night  we  closed  the  eyes  of 
our  dear  litde  William  A.  Hallock,  Jr.,  in  death.  Pre- 
cious babes,  sweet  and  lovely  as  you  were  to  us,  and 
sore  as  is  our  loss,  we  would  not  call  you  back.  The 
Lord's  will  be  done  ! 

"  Ox).  arriving  in  the  city  from  a  short  journey,  I 
was  called  to  our  dear  brother  Harlan  Page,  whose 
recovery  from  an  illness  that  began  in  May  was  now 
hopeless.  He  had  given  up  all  wish  to  remain,  was 
enabled  to  triumph  in  view  of  approaching  death,  and 
breathed  out  his  soul  to  God  on  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 23,  1834.  It  having  been  judged  best  that  his 
body  should  be  interred  in  Coventry,  Conn.,  his  native 
place,  I  accompanied  it,  where  it  was  committed  to  the 
ground  amid  a  large  concourse  of  sympathizing  rela- 
tives and  friends. 


S6  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

"  At  the  request  of  the  widow,  I  prepared  a  funeral 
discourse,  and  on  Monday  evening,  after  my  return, 
preached  it,  in  connection  with  an  address  from  Rev. 
Wm.  Patton,  in  his  church  on  Broome  street,  where 
Mr.  Page  for  some  years  had  superintended  a  large 
Sabbath-school. 

"  I  was  immediately  requested  to  preach  the  same 
sermon  on  Sabbath  evening  at  Rev.  Dr.  Spring's 
church.  The  following  Sabbath  I  delivered  it  to  a 
crowded  house  at  Rev.  Mr.  Downer's  church,  and  also 
to  the  Brainerd  church.  On  succeeding  Sabbaths,  I 
repeated  it  in  nine  other  churches  in  this  city.  On 
most  of  those  occasions  I  was  requested  by  clergymen 
and  others  to  prepare  a  sketch  of  his  life  for  the  press ; 
and  this,  by  the  divine  blessing,  I  hope  to  do,  believing 
that  it  will  exert  a  most  salutary  influence  in  inducing 
Christians  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  individuals,  to 
whom,  in  the  providence  of  God,  they  have  access.  I 
can  truly  say  that  during  nine  years  in  which  we 
were  associated  in  labors,  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever 
passed  an  interview  with  him  long  enough  to  have 
any  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling,  in  which  I 
did  not  receive  from  him  an  impulse  heavenward — 
an  impulse  onward  in  duty  to  God  and  the  souls  of 
men. 

**  November.  Oliver  R.  Kingsbury,  a  nephew  of 
Harlan  Page,  has  been  induced  to  assume  the  labors 
of  Assistant  Treasurer  as  well  as  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Tract  Society.  The  editorial  and  foreign  depart- 
ments, and  the  duties  of  the  general  agency,  not  other- 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES.  S7 

wise  designated,  are  assigned  to  me.  Raising  of  funds, 
etc.,  to  Brother  Eastman.  I  am  now  devoting  myself 
almost  entirely  to  bringing  up  the  arrears  of  the  Pub- 
lishing Department  in  hope  of  accomplishing  much  for 
Christ. 

"  December  7.  I  have  just  resumed  a  Bible  class 
for  men,  nineteen  having  joined,  and  have  transferred 
the  superintendence  of  tract  visitation  in  the  9th  ward 
to  a  faithful  brother  within  its  bounds,  still  retaining  the 
superintendence  of  the  14th  ward. 

"  May  3,  1835.  I  have  completed  the  'Life  of  Har- 
lan Page,'  and  desire  to  commit  it  to  God.  It  cost  me 
much  labor. 

"June  I.  Our  anniversary  seasons  have  been  emi- 
nently spiritual.  The  two  foreign  missionaries,  Rev. 
Mr.  Abeel  from  China  and  Mr.  Sutton  from  Orissa, 
where  the  temple  of  Juggernaut  is  located,  have  done 
much  to  kindle  a  new  missionary  spirit. 

"  October.  It  is  ground  of  special  gratitude  to  God 
that  the  'Memoir  of  Harlan  Page'  is  gaining  a  large 
circulation,  the  first  edition  of  2,000  being  sold  in  nine 
or  ten  weeks,  besides  an  edition  published  by  Leavitt, 
Lord  &  Co.     It  is  also  being  reprinted  in  London. 

"December  28.  My  dear  mother:  Brother  Leavitt 
has  just  told  us  of  your  sickness,  and  we  bless  God  that 
you  are  prepared  for  sudden  illness  or  for  death.  It 
is  all  of  grace,  rich  and  glorious  grace.  We  all  hoped 
to  see  you  yet,  many  times  more  in  health,  &nd  now 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  meeting  you  in  heaven. 

"Never  did  a  mother  do  more  for  her  children, 

Dr.  Hallock.  3 


58  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

and  I  believe  God  has  heard  your  prayers  and  blessed 
your  efforts  for  us.  Ten  thousand  times  do  I,  your 
first-born,  and  we  all,  thank  you  for  all  you  have  done 
for  us  in  infancy,  childhood,  youth,  and  all  the  way  to 
the  present  hour.  I  bless  God  that  whether  living  or 
dying,  you  are  his,  prepared  for  all  his  will,  and  that 
all  he  does  with  you  will  be  in  mercy.  We  shall  cher- 
ish your  memory  while  our  lives  last,  and  I  hope  thou- 
sands saved  by  your  efforts  and  those  of  your  husband 
and  children  will  bless  God  for  ever  that  you  have 
lived.  The  Lord  prepare  our  dear  father  and  all  the 
family  for  all  his  will  concerning  you." 

"Jan.  7,  1836.  My  venerated  mother,  Margaret 
Allen  Hallock  had  a  shock  of  paralysis,  Dec.  16,  after 
which  she  was  unable  to  speak,  but  retained  her  reason, 
knew  her  friends,  manifested  great  calmness  and  resig- 
nation in  view  of  death,  and  on  Tuesday,  Dec.  27,  left 
this  world,  aged  75.  All  that  this  mother  did  for  me, 
her  first-born,  is  more  than  can  be  recounted.  Her  toil 
for  the  temporal  welfare  of  her  household  was  unceas- 
ing, and  words  of  Christian  love  and  counsel  distilled 
continually  from  her  lips.  From  my  earliest  recollec- 
tion, I  knew  when  she  retired,  morning  and  evening,  to 
her  consecrated  room  for  prayer.  Her  steadfast  confi- 
dence in  God,  and  hope  in  death,  are  vividly  impressed 
on  my  mind,  as  are  the  numerous  hymns  she  taught  me 
and  the  tunes  in  which  she  sweetly  sang  them,  espe- 
cially when  we  all  joined  her  in  family  worship.  Once 
when  I  was  alone  ploughing  in  the  field,  thoughts  of 
eternity  and  my  sinfulness  made  my  tears  flow.  When  I 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVFFIES.  59 

went  in  at  noon,  'William,'  she  said,  'I  have  had  very 
uncommon  feelings  about  you  this  morning.  I  realized 
that  you  were  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  he  was 
watching  over  you,  and  that  I  could  commit  you  to 
him.  I  hope  he  has  mercy  in  store  for  you,  and  that 
I  shall  see  you  a  joyful  believer  in  Christ  ?' 

"  My  dear  mother  combined  great  industry,  econ- 
omy, and  real  kindness.  She  sympathized  with  the 
suffering  Greeks,  Poles,  and  those  in  pagan  darkness, 
almost  as  if  their  temporal  miseries  and  eternal  sorrows 
were  before  her  eyes  ;  always  was  she  striving  in  some 
way  to  contribute  to  their  relief.  Her  children  and 
friends  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed ;  her  husband  also 
and  he  praiseth  her.  An  appropriate  sermon  was 
preached  by  Rev.  Mr.  Jennings." 

Mr.  Hallock's  journal  brings  us  to  the  development 
of  the  Tract  Society  as  a  great  national  agency,  not 
only  for  publishing  religious  works,  but  also  for  finding 
readers  for  them.  Throughout  the  country,  especially 
in  the  cities  and  larger  towns,  there  was  begun  and 
carried  on  with  more  or  less  efficiency,  for  many  years, 
a  work  of  monthly  tract  distribution  from  house  to 
house,  "resting,"  said  the  Committee  in  1829,  "on  the 
grand  principle  recognized  on  every  page  of  the  New 
Testament  and  enforced  by  the  whole  history  of  Christ 
and  his  disciples,  that  the  gospel  is  a  message,  which 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  followers  of  Christ  to  carry  and 
deliver  to  all  who  have  it  not." 

In  New  York,  under  the  eye  and  with  the  heart 


6o  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCIC, 

of  the  Society  in  its  warmest  impulses,  it  was  carried 
out  with  great  thoroughness.  The  city  was  divided 
into  districts,  mapped  carefully  out  with  the  number  of 
families  living  in  them  ascertained  and  recorded.  Each 
district  was  put  under  a  superintendent,  who,  with  his 
assistants,  was  to  visit  each  family  once  a  month,  carry- 
ing the  same  tract  to  each — "  The  Institution  and  Ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath,"  for  March;  "  Kittredge's  Ad- 
dress on  Intemperance,"  for  April ;  **  The  Dairyman's 
Daughter,"  for  May,  as  once  the  record  runs. 

"At  a  meedng  of  his  co-workers  in  the  14th  ward, 
Harlan  Page,"  we  quote  from  his  Life,  "laid  the  sub- 
ject of  direct,  faithful,  personal,  persevering  effort  and 
wresding  prayer  for  particular  persons  solemnly  and 
earnestly  before  them,  depicdng  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  ward,  and  the  condition  of  hundreds  of  families 
who  absented  themselves  from  the  stated  means  of 
grace,  and  who,  unless  by  their  efforts,  w^ould  never 
probably  have  the  offer  of  salvation  pressed  upon  their 
attention.  He  then  inquired  of  each  distributor  whether 
there  were  not  in  his  district  some  one  or  more  for 
whom  he  felt  special  encouragement  to  labor.  It  was 
made  a  subject  for  prayer  and  heart-searchings  with 
each  distributor,  till  one  fixed  his  mind  on  one  person, 
another  on  two,  and  another  on  three  or  more;  and 
by  the  thirty-six  distributors  eighty-eight  persons  were 
thus  selected  as  special  subjects  of  their  prayers  and 
endeavors.  This  gave  them,  as  will  be  readily  con- 
ceived, a  new  impulse  in  their  work.  They  saw  a  dis- 
tinct object  before  them,  important  as  eternity.     They 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES.  6i 

went  to  the  throne  of  mercy.  They  went  to  the  sub- 
jects of  their  affectionate  soUcitude,  and  their  mouths 
were  filled  with  arguments.  Access  was  easy.  The 
Spirit  of  God  seemed  to  go  before  them  and  to  go  with 
them." 

Personal  work  animated  with  such  a  spirit  could 
not  fail  of  being  efTective.  A  digest  of  its  principles  we 
find  printed  on  a  sheet  for  the  visitors'  report : 

"  Begin  your  work  in  your  closet.  Feel  the  value 
of  the  immortal  souls  whom  Providence  has  placed 
within  the  district  assigned  to  you,  and  pray  God  to 
bless  your  efforts  for  their  spiritual  good. 

"  Read  every  tract  before  giving  it,  that  you  may 
know  its  value  and  be  able  to  speak  intelligently  of  it. 

**  Try  as  far  as  possible  to  ascertain  the  spiritual 
needs  of  every  family  in  your  district,  and  omit  no 
opportunity  of  personal  religious  conversation,  or  of 
aiding  the  Bible  cause  and  Sabbath-schools,  or  of  per- 
suading them  to  attend  on  the  public  worship  of  God." 

The  monthly  meetings  of  the  distributors  we  may 
well  believe  to  have  been  "  memorable  occasions,"  with 
such  men  as  Arthur  Tappan,  A.  R.  Wetmore,  Moses 
Allen,  Mr.  Hallock,  or  Harlan  Page  in  charge  of  them. 

**  We  are  glad  this  work,"  said  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
"  has  not  been  added  to  the  long  list  of  laborious  ser- 
vices which  we  put  upon  the  Christian  ministry,  but 
that  it  is  voluntary  lay  work,  which  must  elevate  the 
standard  of  piety,  and  illustrate  the  fidelity  of  Christian 
character." 

"  Another  result  conspicuously  gratifying,"  says  one 


62  DR.  WILLIAM  A,  HALLOCK. 

from  a  distant  city,  "is  that  every  church  feels  the 
influence  of  the  work  in  causing  people  to  flock  to 
them  for  instruction.  The  language  of  the  tract  is  not 
'  Go  to  this  or  to  that  place  of  worship,'  but  simply  '  Go 
to  the  house  of  God  and  to  the  Bible,  and  see  if  these 
things  are  not  so.'  " 

A  method  of  church  extension  as  apostolic  and  as 
catholic  as  could  well  be  devised. 

Death  and  a  biographer  might  have  brought  to  light 
others,  who,  like  Harlan  Page,  illustrated  the  fervent 
zeal  with  which  this  personal,  steadfast,  concerted  work 
was  then  carried  on.  It  required  wisdom  and  tender- 
ness, as  well  as  courage  and  self-denial;  and  these  a 
great  spiritual  urgency  often  inspires. 

The  wide  spread  religious  awakening  which  took 
place  at  this  period,  notably  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
was  due,  no  doubt,  in  part  to  the  amount  of  religious 
truth  thus  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  men,  when 
religious  reading  from  other  sources  was  yet  scant 
and  cumbrous.  It  was  long  before  the  day  of  Illus- 
trated Christian  Weeklies  ;  religious  newspapers  of  any 
kind  were  few,  and  the  daily  papers  had  not  admitted 
Sunday  sermons  and  revival  news. 

The  value  of  tract  work  at  that  time,  in  reaffirming 
the  central  truths  of  Christianity  in  short  and  pointed 
papers  to  a  great  and  rapidly-growing  country,  can 
hardly  be  over-estimated.  And  readers  there  were 
many,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  circuladon  of  Mr.  Hal- 
lock's  "  Life  of  Harlan  Page,"  which  reached  more  than 
112,000  copies.  It  was  also  translated  into  Swedish 
and  German. 


FRUITFUL  ACTIVITIES.  63 

Of  his  tract,  "  The  Mountain  Miller,"  260,000  were 
issued :  this  was  also  reprinted  in  London  and  Liver- 
pool, and  translated  into  French,  German,  and  Tamil. 
Another  popular  tract  from  his  pen,  "The  Only  Son" 
(Rev.  Dr.  Jonas  King),  reached  a  circulation  of  370,000; 
and  still  another,  "  The  Mother's  Last  Prayer,"  has 
been  more  widely  read  than  either. 

Dr.  Hallock's  other  works  were  a  Life  of  Dr.  Justin 
Edwards ;  one  of  his  father,  Rev.  Moses  Hallock  ; 
sketches  of  Dr.  J.  O.  Brigham,  of  Arthur  Tappan,  and 
of  the  Mayhews  of  Martha's  Vineyard. 


64  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ENLARGED  LABORS— CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL. 

"  Sept.  13,  1836.  The  work  of  supplying  our  coun- 
try with  standard  evangelical  volumes  has  formed  an 
era  in  the  operations  of  the  American  Tract  Society. 
The  '  Saint's  Rest,'  '  Baxter's  Call,'  and  the  solemn  ap- 
peals of  Doddridge,  Bunyan,  Flavel,  and  Alleine  have 
been  so  much  blessed  for  the  salvation  of  men  and  the 
quickening  of  Christians  in  various  parts  of  the  land, 
that  there  is  a  great  call  for  them,  without  the  means  of 
meeting  it.  If  Christians  rest,  the  adversary  does  not. 
Of  the  8,000  books  now  on  the  trade-list  of  the  country, 
more  than  one-hall  are  novels  or  works  of  injurious 
tendency.  If  the  friends  of  God  and  man  do  not  bestir 
themselves  to  furnish  what  is  useful  and  salutary,  others, 
for  gain,  will  cherish  every  depraved  appetite.  It  is  the 
wish  of  the  Society  to  provide  aliment  for  the  soul,  and 
thus  help  to  supplant  poisonous  literature.  Fourteen 
volumes  are  already  published  as  an  evangelical  library, 
and  a  number  of  others  are  in  progress.  Nothing  but 
means  is  wanting  lor  the  Society  to  furnish  families, 
churches,  and  associations  throughout  the  country  with 
a  standard  Christian  library  of  fifty  or  one  hundred  vol- 
umes on  all  the  great  subjects  pertaining  to  man's  high- 
est temporal  and  eternal  good. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee,  held  September 
30,  1836,  the  list  of  subscripdons  for  $50,000  to  increase 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL  65 

the  number  of  volumes  in  the  Society's  Depository  was 
presented,  from  which  it  appeared  that  the  whole  sum 
which  we  needed  and  asked  for  is  raised.  The  Com- 
mittee then  devoted  a  little  time  to  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments to  God,  and  prayer  for  his  continual  guid- 
ance and  blessing. 

"  The  above  noble  effort  was  begun  in  March,  and 
finished  September  30.  P^or  the  last  five  weeks  I  was 
almost  wholly  devoted  to  it.  My  heart  was  warmed 
and  cheered  continually  by  the  Christian  liberality  and 
love  shown  by  God's  people  for  this  great  work." 

"  October  23.  I  spent  last  Sabbath,  my  dear  and 
honored  father,  with  Brother  Arms,  in  New  Jersey,  and 
preached  for  him.  He  feels  greatly  indebted  to  you  for 
his  clerical  instruction,  and  loves  you  very  much. 

"  We  shall  always  be  very  thankful  for  your  kind- 
ness to  our  litde  daughter  Harriet — letdng  her  come 
out  early  to  your  kitchen  fire,  playing  with  her,  and 
praying  for  her — and  for  all  you  have  done  for  her  and 
her  mother  during  their  visit.  The  Lord  reward  you, 
dear  father,  and  prepare  you  and  us  all  for  his  holy 
will. 

"Jan.  I,  1S37.  Very  many  blessings  during  1836 
have  we  to  recount.  Our  precious  little  daughter,  who 
was  feeble,  is  now  full  of  life  and  vigor,  laying,  by  her 
attractions,  perhaps  too  strong  a  hold  upon  our  be- 
reaved hearts.  Sister  Charlotte  Lathrop,  who  seemed 
on  the  borders  of  death,  has  been  raised  up  to  comfort- 
able health,  and  sailed  in  November  for  the  mission  to 
Southern  India.     Thus  Mother  Lathrop  has  had  the 


66  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

privilege  of  consecrating  her  fourth  daughter  to  mis- 
sions in  India. 

"January  9.  This  day  the  Lord  has  given  us 
another  daughter.  A  few  montlis  since,  it  seemed  that 
we  should  soon  be  again  childless,  and  now  we  are  the 
parents  of  two  children  among  the  living.  To  Thee, 
blessed  Redeemer,  do  we  consecrate  both  them  and 
ourselves  for  life  or  death.  Our  choice  perhaps  would 
have  been  a  son,  to  take  the  place  of  our  Httle  William, 
but  we  are  glad  God  has  chosen  for  us.  He  can  raise 
up  ministers  and  missionaries  without  us,  and  if  my 
name  in  my  branch  of  the  family  is  to  be  extinct,  so 
let  it  be.  We  lift  up  our  Ebenezer,  and  say,  '  Hitherto 
hath  the  Lord  helped  us.     To  him  be  the  praise.' 

"July  17.  My  venerable  father,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven,  sleeps  in  Jesus.  Tidings  first  arrived 
that  he  was  ill,  and  immediately  after,  that  he  had  de- 
parted. How  should  I  rejoice  again  to  see  him,  and 
converse  with  him  on  a  multitude  of  topics.  Above  all, 
to  thank  him  for  all  his  kindness,  fidelity,  and  wise 
counsels,  and  render  him  that  respect  and  filial  love 
which  perhaps  never  a  father  more  justly  claimed. 

"  November  30.  More  and  more  deeply  am  I  im- 
pressed with  the  heavy  loss  we  all  have  sustained.  Such 
men  as  my  father,  and  his  brother  Jeremiah,  with  their 
father,  I  believe  are  rarely  found — men  of  such  integrity 
and  honesty  of  character,  such  true  humility,  meekness, 
and  trust  in  God.  Few  sons,  I  am  persuaded,  have 
found  a  father's  heart  always  so  warm  and  tender,  and 
yet  so  firm,  warning  and  admonishing  with  a  frankness 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL.  67 

that  I  feel  must  give  him  joy  in  heaven.  Every  year 
when  I  have  visited  him  of  late,  I  have  confessed  to  him 
my  short-comings,  and  thanked  him  for  all  he  had 
done  for  his  children.  He  has  felt  that  in  the  conduct 
of  his  children  he  had  nothing  to  forgive,  and  that  he 
must  ask  God  to  pardon  his  own  unfaithfulness.  Bless- 
ed MAN  OF  God,  Farewell. 

"April  I,  1838.  This  day,  the  Sabbath,  has  been 
one  of  thanksgiving  to  God,  especially  that  three  heads 
of  families  found  by  Mrs.  Hallock  and  me  amid  the 
highways  of  sin,  have  publicly  professed  Christ,  and  sat 
down  with  us  at  his  table. 

"  On  the  second  week  in  January,  when  there  was 
preaching  in  the  church  every  evening,  notices  of  it 
were  printed,  and  we  visited  several  streets,  entering 
every  dwelling,  inviting  people  to  attend. 

"  I  have  alluded  to  these  cheering  details  because 
these  feeble  efforts  seem  to  have  constituted  an  era  in 
my  life.  I  never  before  have  so  taken  individuals  on 
my  heart,  and  persevered  in  efforts  for  their  salvation, 
in  every  way  identifying  my  interests  with  theirs  from 
week  to  week ;  nor  have  I  done  anything  which  has 
been  to  me  such  a  source  of  spiritual  joy  and  spiritual 
growth.  I  verily  believe  that  this  one  principle  of 
action,  faithfully  carried  out  by  the  whole  church  of 
God,  would  speedily  lead  to  the  conversion  of  the  land 
and  world. 

"I  think  1838  will  be  remembered  with  1831  as  a 
year  of  revivals.  The  one  thousand  laborers  in  the 
Tract  Visitation  in  this  city  are  putting  forth  a  powerful 


68  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

agency :  seventy-seven  individuals  found  by  them  wan- 
dering in  sin  were  reported  last  month  as  giving  evi- 
dence of  piety.  Many  Christians  are  very  useful,  and 
find  their  highest  joy  in  seeking  out  and  laboring  for 
such  individuals.  Mrs.  Hallock  and  I  have  done  more 
in  this  way  than  ever  before,  and  are  learning  the  bless- 
edness of  the  service.  In  watering  others  we  have  been 
richly  blessed. 

"  November.  Mr.  Cook  came  to  New  York  to  buy 
books.  Arriving  at  the  setting  in  of  a  severe  snow- 
storm, he  stayed  with  me  two  days,  and  we  devoted 
ourselves  to  a  full  and  most  interesting  discussion  upon 
the  character  and  influence  of  the  Society,  combining 
personal  efforts  with  tract  visitation  and  volume  circula- 
tion in  all  their  bearings  in  our  own  and  foreign  lands. 
A  fire  was  kindled  in  our  hearts  which  will  expand  and 
glow  as  eternity  rolls  on. 

"June,  1839.  Our  Fourteenth  Annual  Report,  just 
going  to  press,  shows  that  \he  foreign  correspondence 
has  been  large,  and  that  a  deep  interest  has  been  awa- 
kened, far  and  wide,  in  foreign  and  pagan  lands. 

''  Rev.  R.  S.  Cook  was  elected  additional  Secretary 
at  our  last  anniversary :  I  to  devote  myself  to  the  Pub- 
lishing and  Foreign  Departments;  Messrs.  Eastman 
and  Cook  dividing  between  them  the  raising  of  funds 
and  the  awakening  of  the  churches.  Mr.  Cook's  talents, 
energy,  and  zeal  are  happily  adapted  to  meet  the  wants 
of  the  Society,  and  may  his  faith  and  love  be  abundant- 
ly owned  and  blest  by  God. 

"  October.     I  am  now  preparing  our  book  of  So- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL.  69 

cial  Hymns,  and  also  '  Flavel's  Fountain  of  Life,'  on 
the  very  topic,  '  Christ  Crucified,'  which  I  feel  the  deep- 
est interest  in  inculcating.  It  has  given  me  more  full 
and  rich  views  of  Christ,  and  rendered  all  said  of  him 
in  Scripture  very  precious.  Other  volumes  claim  atten- 
tion ;  new  tracts  are  called  for ;  the  Children's  depart- 
ment of  our  publications  greatly  needs  months  of  labor ; 
and  the  Foreign  department  claims  much  correspond- 
ence. Many  calls  at  the  Tract  House  devour  time, 
and  I  feel  like  hanging  as  a  little  child  on  God  for 
wisdom. 

"Our  fifteenth  Annual  Report  (1840)  shows  that 
God  is  still  opening  before  us  wide  fields  of  usefulness 
at  home  and  abroad,  demanding  great  gratitude  and 
redoubled  energy  for  the  future. 

"  The  presence  in  our  family  of  Miss  F.  M.  Caul- 
kins,  who  is  revising  the  Society's  books  for  the  young, 
and  of  my  brother  Secretary,  R.  S.  Cook,  has  been 
cheering  and  stimulating,  especially  in  family  worship. 

"Jan.  3,  1 841.  At  the  coming  in  of  the  New  year 
I  have  written,  as  usual,  to  Plainfield  friends,  but  am 
reminded  that  I  have  neither  father  nor  mother.  What 
choice  friends  are  a  godly  father  and  mother !  What  a 
motive  to  be  useful,  that  I  might  gladden  their  hearts. 
I  was  indeed  a  part  of  themselves ;  this  they  felt  beyond 
what  I  knew. 

"  Thanks  that  our  Committee  love  the  truth,  and 
apparently  love  it  equally,  though  they  are  called  by 
different  names.  We  are  all  agreed  that  our  one  work 
is  to  diffuse  the  great  evangelical  and  saving  doctrines 


70  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

of  the  cross.     On  this  point  I  see  more  and  more  clearly 
the  wisdom  of  the  catholic  structure  of  this  Society. 

"June  4,  1848.  Our  eldest  daughter,  Harriet,  has 
this  day  united  with  the  church.  For  more  than  a  year 
she  has  had  hope  in  Christ. 

"June  2,  1850.  On  this  my  fifty-sixth  birthday,  my 
youngest  daughter,  Frances,  has  joined  her  parents  and 
sister  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  Great  occasion  have  we 
to  thank  the  Lord  that  he  has  thus  inclined  the  hearts 
of  both  our  children  to  his  service.  I  believe  it  is  to  be 
attributed  much  to  the  influence  of  their  mother  and  our 
religious  relatives  and  friends.  At  Plainfield,  three  years 
ago,  they  found  a  decided  religious  influence,  three  of 
their  cousins  having  professed  Christ.  The  children's 
prayer-meeting  there,  the  youths'  prayer-meeting  here, 
with  all  the  influences  of  the  Sabbath-school,  seem  to 
have  been  eflective  means  of  their  spiritual  good.  Our 
pleasant  family  worship  has  also  doubtless  had  its  influ- 
ence. 

"May  18,  1 85 1.  On  the  15th  instant  our  venerable 
mother  Lathrop,  whose  home  has  been  with  us  in  New 
York  for  sixteen  years,  peacefully  slept  in  Jesus,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-nine.  Few  women  have  been  more 
honored  or  blessed :  eight  children  all  pious,  and  four 
of  her  five  daughters  missionaries  in  Ceylon.  We 
praised  God  for  what  he  has  done  for  us  through  her, 
and  for  what  we  had  been  enabled  to  do  for  her.  In  all 
the  years  when  she  has  been  most  of  the  time  with  us, 
I  recollect  no  expression  to  her  or  from  her  that  I  could 
regret,  or  that  gave  pain  to  any  one." 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL.  71 

The  close  of  his  Journal  closes  the  door  to  the  inner 
life  of  Dr.  Hallock,  through  which  we  have  caught 
bright  glimpses  of  his  reverent  filial  love,  his  tender  do- 
mestic affections,  his  unsparing  diligence,  and  his  devout 
trust  in  God. 

His  children  grew  up  with  no  memory  of  harshness 
or  injustice.  His  uniform  and  judicious  kindness  ear- 
ly led  them  to  revere  their  parents  and  to  respect 
themselves.  Their  endearments  rested  his  weary  mind, 
and  he  often  showed  a  touching  gratitude  for  their  sim- 
ple expressions  of  love  and  care  for  him.  The  family 
nurture  was  preeminently  a  Christian  nurture. 

"The  influence  of  my  father's  conversations  with  his 
friends  and  fellow-helpers,  who  used  to  visit  us — while 
we,  seated  by  his  side  or  perhaps  on  his  knee,  were  si- 
lendy  listening — was  a  beautiful  education,"  said  one  of 
his  daughters.  "  His  cheerfulness,  his  enthusiasm,  his 
keen  appreciation  of  what  pleased  him,  his  supreme 
loyalty  to  his  great  work,  impressed  us  with  a  noble 
ideal  of  Christian  character.  We  loved  what  he  loved, 
and  the  interest  which  we  took  in  the  things  which  so 
heartily  interested  him  was  a  constant  source  of  pleasure 
to  us.  I  could  indeed  hardly  wish  for  anything  better 
for  my  own  children  than  the  unconscious  influence  in 
the  formation  of  character  of  such  visitors  as  used  to 
frequent  my  father's  house  when  we  were  children.'' 

And  there  are  still  those  who  remember  the  cordial 
hospitaHties  of  the  small  and  pleasant  house  in  Greene 
street,  where  Dr.  Hallock  spent  the  busiest  and  happi- 
est period  of  his  life.     When  no  longer  a  desirable  lo- 


72  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

cality,  and  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers,  "  could 
its  walls  echo  the  words  of  prayer  and  praise  which  have 
ascended  thence,  nothing  impure  or  unclean  could  dwell 
there,"  said  one;  "nay,  rather,  people  would  be  wooed 
and  won  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

"  My  idea  of  an  earthly  paradise,"  writes  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  Gerard  Hallock,  "was  the  homes  of  the  two 
brothers  (Gerard  and  William)  side  by  side  in  Greene 
street,  with  the  garden-gate  always  open,  over  which 
hung  the  most  luscious  grapes.  Through  this  gate  I 
often  made  uncle  an  early  morning  call,  as  I  heard  him 
sawing  wood.  When  he  heard  my  step,  he  would  stop 
his  work,  and  looking  up  with  a  cheery  smile,  say,  *  I 
do  this  for  exercise ;  it  makes  a  man  robust  and  ready 
for  a  good  breakfast.' 

"  He  was  scrupulously  neat,  and  no  trace  of  dusty 
work  was  ever  seen  when  he  appeared  at  table  with  his 
bright  'good-morning.'  His  house  was  made  appar- 
ently of  brick,  but  it  must  have  been  rubber,  such 
numbers  were  welcomed  there  and  entertained  at  his 
hospitable  board — D.  D.'s,  colporteurs,  etc.,  any  and  all 
who  were  interested  in  missionary  or  philanthropic  ef- 
fort. Here  he  presided  with  marked  generosity  and 
thoughtfulness,  ever  kindly  considerate  of  the  wants  ol 
wife  and  children,  while  attentive  to  the  entertainment 
of  his  guests. 

"The  hour  of  family  prayer  was  delightful.  After 
reading  the  Scriptures,  making  his  clear  and  interest- 
ing comments,  he  with  the  daughters  would  sing  some 
familiar  hymn,  each  taking  a  different  part.     Singing 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURXAL.  73 

was  an  act  of  devout  worship;  he  always  raised  his 
eyes  heavenward,  and  an  expression  of  glorified  peace 
seemed  to  illuminate  his  features.  Then,  before  kneel- 
ing in  prayer,  he  would  frequently  say,  *  Sweet  music ! 
beautiful !'  Often  he  said  to  me,  '  What  a  good  wife  I 
have,  and  daughters  too  !'  "  His  love  for  children  was 
remarkable,  and  he  was,  in  his  leisure  moments,  ever 
ready  to  show  an  interest  in  their  childish  sports. 

A  co-worker  writes  :  ''  I  was  five  years  at  the  Tract 
House,  and  saw  Mr.  Hallock  daily,  often  several  times 
a  day,  in  his  room  and  my  own;  and  his  unvarying 
kindness,  gentleness,  and  patience  with  me,  I  shall  never 
forget.  We  said  Mr.  Hallock  in  those  days,  and  I  well 
remember  how  very  modest  he  was  when  the  other  title 
was  conferred.  I  recollect  a  very  pleasant  Thanksgiv- 
ing dinner  to  which  I  was  invited  in  Greene  street,  with 
others,  and  a  very  charming  evening  visit,  when  Mr. 
Cook  was  among  the  guests.  Those  were  happy  days. 
I  enjoyed  my  occupations,  and  feel  an  indebtedness  to 
Mr.  Hallock  that  I  cannot  express." 

A  letter,  dated  1844,  from  Mr.  D.  Fanshaw,  the  old 
printer  of  the  Tract  and  Bible  Societies,  has  been  pre- 
served, from  which  we  quote  the  introduction  of  a  new 
chair  into  the  busy  home. 

"  Respected  madam  :  I  have  sent  you,  as  a  New 
Year's  gift,  a  very  comfortable  chair,  which  you  may 
lend  to  your  husband  in  the  evenings.  His  more  than 
wire  and  whalebone  frame  is  fast  giving  way  under  the 
dreadful  pressure  of  the  whole  tract  work,  which  he 
will  carry,  instead  bf  apportioning  It  among  others,  and 

Dr.  Hallock.  lO 


74  DR,   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

taking  charge  of  the  helm  only,  as  wise  managers  do. 
If  one  of  his  own  children  were  to  work  for  his  benefit 
and  glory,  beyond  her  strength,  he  would  feel  it  his 
duty  to  reprove  her  for  it.  When  he  gets  home  I  think 
he  will  be  found  to  have  been  a  great  transgressor  of 
the  command,  '  Take  no  thought  for  the  morrow.' 

"  I  send  the  chair  to  you,  not  to  Mr.  H.,  for  he  is  so 
fearful  of  anything  like  a  present,  that  I  would  not  risk 
distressing  him  for  the  value  of  many  such,  nor  would  I 
in  this  way  approach  him,  if  I  wanted  anything  from 
him.  No,  no.  I  have  no  favors  to  ask;  if  I  had,  I 
should  much  sooner  pave  the  way  for  it  by  quarrelling 
with  him,  for  he  would  be  sure  to  heap  coals  of  fire  on 
my  head  if  I  did." 

"  I  have  no  idea  of  ever  wanting  any  favor  from  him 
again;  I  have  received  so  much  already  that  I  can 
never  cancel  my  obligations,  and  have  no  desire  to  do 
so,  for  to  me  gratitude  is  a  delightful  feeling.  The  time 
is  rapidly  approaching  when  he  will  know  how  approv- 
ingly he  was  looked  upon  by  the  Ruler  of  events  for 
his  noble  attempts  to  protect  an  injured  brother.  Till 
then  may  every  blessing  and  comfort  which  a  close 
communion  with  his  Maker  can  procure  be  his  lot 
and  yours." 

No  man  was  ever  more  thoroughly  at  home  in  his 
work ;  and  his  home  during  this  period  of  its  enlarging 
activity  and  usefulness  throbbed  with  the  buoyant  and 
dauntless  spirit  which  animated  him. 

The  Tract  Society  was  developing  beyond  his  high- 
est expectations.    He  was  alert  to  see  and  to  seize  every 


CLOSE  OF  THE  JOURNAL.  75 

suggestion  and  opportunity  for  increasing  its  influence. 
Its  catholic  basis  brought  a  wide  coastituency,  which 
he  was  conscientiously  careful  to  preserve.  In  revising 
old  books,  or  in  providing  new  ones,  he  spared  no  pains 
to  make  them  true  to  the  compact  upon  which  it  was 
founded.  Divine  truth  accepted  by  all  the  great  Chris- 
tian bodies  left  no  occasion  for  faultfinding  on  the  part 
of  any ;  and  if  eliminations  of  differing  views  were  some- 
times complained  of,  the  verdict  of  the  Christian  public 
still  acquiesced  in  them. 


76  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
COLPORTAGE,  AND  CONFLICT. 

The  advent  of  Rev.  R.  S.  Cook  into  the  official 
circle  of  the  Tract  Society  gave  new  breadth  and  spring 
to  its  influence. 

While  pastor  at  Lanesboro,  Berkshire  county,  Mass., 
during  a  temporary  loss  of  voice,  he  tried  the  experi- 
ment of  substituting  the  printed  page  for  the  living 
preacher.  This  work  in  New  York  had  attracted  his 
attention  and  heartily  interested  him.  Its  development 
and  success  suggested  a  similar  work  in  his  own  parish, 
which  soon  extended  beyond  his  parish  and  town  to  the 
entire  county.  Again  and  again  had  he  sent  for  the 
Society's  books,  and  of  the  result  of  his  efforts  in  circu- 
lating them  he  thus  speaks :  "  I  believe  that  the  Lord 
has  employed  this  instrumentality  in  effecting  more 
good,  present  and  ultimate,  than  all  my  labors  as  a  pas- 
tor could  have  accomplished.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  most  of  the  precious  revivals  enjoyed  in  that 
county  during  the  last  winter  were  greatly  promoted 
by  this  enterprise.  I  have  heard  of  many  conversions 
by  this  means,  and  know  of  some  directly  resulting  from 
books  which  I  had  given. 

"  Nearly  seven  thousand  volumes  have  been  circu- 
lated, including  more  than  one  hundred  libraries." 


COLrORTAGE,  AND  CONFLICT.  ^7 

And  what  was  true  of  this  locahty  was  true  of  many 
others. 

**  In  my  ministry,"  adds  a  New  Jersey  pastor,  "  I 
have  endeavored  never  to  lose  sight  of  this  means  of 
influence.  I  have  made  it  an  object,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  have  every  family  supplied  with  plenty  of  religious 
reading.  In  but  a  few  years  I  have  distributed  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  volumes." 

"  On  several  accounts,"  adds  another,  "  I  consider 
the  volume  circulation  as  among  the  most  valuable  of 
all  the  brotherhood  of  benevolent  objects." 

Mr.  Cook,  with  characteristic  energy,  presented  this 
phase  of  the  Society's  work — furnishing  sound  and  well- 
selected  religious  reading  for  school,  family,  and  parish 
libraries — in  Hartford,  Providence,  Boston,  and  other 
large  towns,  aw^akening  an  interest  respondent  to  his 
own.  In  the  annals  of  that  day,  we  read  of  "  six  hun- 
dred volumes  circulated  in  Dr.  Codman's  parish,  Dor- 
chester;" "1,200  in  Rfev.  Mr.  Steam's  congregation, 
Cambridgeport;  1,800  in  Charlestown ;"  "6,175  ^^^  Prov- 
idence;" "in  Factory  Village,  1,665;"  "Newport,  300." 

There  were  multitudes,  however,  in  this  rapidly- 
growing  country,  outside  and  far  beyond  any  means  of 
moral  or  religious  improvement  whatever.  If  the  "vol- 
ume circulation"  was  important  in  New  England  and 
in  New  York,  and  needed  pastors  and  friends  to  pro- 
mote it,  how  much  more  needy  were  the  spiritual 
wastes  elsewhere !  These,  from  the  first,  the  Society 
took  into  account,  and  how  to  reach  them  was  but  a 
question  of  ways  and  means. 


yS  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

History  repeated  itself.  When  Calvin  and  Farel 
quitted  France,  and  many  of  their  comrades  perished 
in  the  flames,  other  means  were  found  to  nourish  the 
faith  and  increase  the  number  of  believers.  In  Basle, 
a  free  city  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhone,  they  set  up 
a  printing  press  vi^hose  sheets  were  dispersed  far  and 
wide.  The  intrepid  and  indefatigable  Farel  hid  them 
in  the  packs  of  pious  pedlers,  and  eastern  France  had 
the  living  word.  Whittier's  little  poem  the  "  Vaudois 
Teacher  "  aptly  describes  the  spirit  and  the  methods  of 
this  simple  itineracy. 

The  men  were  called  colporteurs,  a  French  term  for 
pious  book-bearers,  implying  personal  effort  for  the  spir- 
itual good  of  those  who  traded  in  their  wares.  Knox 
in  Scodand,  Howell  Harris  in  Wales,  English  Non- 
Conformists,  Moravians  and  Wesleyans  in  the  same  way 
carried  religious  truth  to  ignorant  neighborhoods  and 
isolated  homes,  creating  intelligent  Chrisdan  communi- 
ties out  of  much  raw  and  unpromising  material. 

The  Tract  Society  resolved  upon  using  such  an 
agency.  Unfolding  its  plan  before  a  meeting  at  Boston, 
a  gentleman  promptly  offered  $150  a  year  for  the  sup- 
port of  one  colporteur,  the  offer  to  hold  good  for  life. 
Two  young  men  from  Maine  and  New  Hampshire 
offered  their  services  and  were  soon  commissioned  to 
go,  one  to  Kentucky,  the  other  to  Illinois. 

The  next  year  twenty-seven  were  sent,  and  in  the 
fall  of  that  year — 1842 — a  special  meeting  was  called  at 
the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York,  to  lay  before  the 
Christian  public  the  enlarging  fields  of  usefulness  open 


COLPORTAGE,  AND  CONFLICT.  79 

to  the  Society  both  at  home  and  abroad,  needing  only 
a  systematic  cooperation  of  the  churches  to  enter  upon 
and  occupy  them. 

The  meeting  lasted  two  days.  Stirring  papers  on 
colportage  were  presented  by  Mr.  Cook.  Mr.  Hallock 
urged  the  claims  of  its  work  in  foreign  lands,  where 
seventeen  hundred  of  its  publications  in  more  than  a 
hundred  tongues  were  already  circulated  at  different 
missions,  while  evangelistic  labors  in  Russia,  Finland, 
Sweden,  Prussia  and  France  had  been  greatly  strength- 
ened by  its  grants. 

For  all  this,  $40,000  for  the  Home  field,  and  $40,000 
for  the  Foreign  field  were  imperatively  and  immediately 
needed. 

"  And  will  Christ's  redeemed  people  excuse  them- 
selves ?"  asked  Mr.  Hallock,  at  the  close  of  one  of  his 
papers.  "  Thou,  blessed  Lamb  !  who  didst  Thyself  comie 
down  to  die,  hast  commanded  us  to  bear  the  cross  and 
follow  Thee,  'always  abounding'  in  thy  work.  Shall 
we  render  no  voluntary  service  to  spread  the  knowl- 
edge of  thy  blessed  name  and  save  the  souls  of  men?" 

Pastors  and  laymen,  who  took  part  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  this  meeting,  endorsed  in  the  strongest  terms 
the  objects  laid  before  them,  and  commended  the  Soci- 
ety anew  to  the  hearty  and  generous  support  of  the 
Christian  public.  This  did  much  to  draw  attention  and 
increase  both  interest  and  confidence  in  the  great  or-, 
ganizatlon  which  offered  itself  as  a  custodian  for  the 
larger  chanties  of  the  church. 

As  for  colportage,  henceforth  Its  growth  was  steady 


So  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

and  rapid.  By  its  fifth  year,  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men  were  in  commission.  And  since  a  thorough 
supervision  was  indispensable  to  the  safe  and  successful 
prosecution  of  the  work,  Rev.  Seely  Wood,  a  Western 
man,  was  appointed  superintendent  of  its  Western 
branch,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Vail  of  the  Southern. 

"  The  peculiar  field  for  colportage,"  says  Mr.  Hal- 
lock  in  his  Nineteenth  Annual  Report,  *'  embraces  the 
absolute  destitutions  of  the  country  existing  in  our  great 
cities ;  on  the  numerous  islands  along  our  coast ;  in  the 
lumber  districts  of  the  East;  on  the  frontiers  of  the 
North ;  on  the  extended  mountain  ranges  dividing  the 
East  from  the  West ;  among  the  barren  pines  stretching 
for  a  thousand  miles  to  the  Gulf;  around  the  bayous 
and  savannas  of  the  South ;  in  the  forests  and  along 
the  borders  of  the  ocean  prairies  and  lakes  of  the  West ; 
among  the  millions  of  Romanists  and  the  2,500,000 
Germans  and  other  foreign  em.igrants." 

Truly  a  broad  field.  We  read  of  a  "  Bethel  boat ;" 
log-cabin  prayer-meetings ;  embryo  Sunday-schools  ; 
Pilgrim's  Progress  in  emigrant  wagons ;  Saint's  Rest 
among  the  pineries ;  Sabbath  Manuals  and  Temperance 
Documents  on  the  Mobile  Lighters  and  in  frontier 
*'  Dug-outs,"  and  many  a  library  in  more  stationary 
quarters.  . 

These  colporteurs  were  sappers  and  miners  of  the 
great  Christian  army,  making  a  way  for  the  permanent 
occupation  of  gospel  institutions. 

While  most  of  them  were  plain  men,  German  and 
French  as  well  as  English,  some  were  students  from 


8i 

our  colleges  and  seminaries,  spending  their  vacations  in 
Christian  work  for  the  small  pecuniary  help  it  might 
afford  them,  while  gaining  what  was  more  and  better,  a 
practical  and  efficient  training  for  the  ministry. 

Dr.  Mark  Hopkins  felt  the  value  of  this.  Dr.  Net- 
tleton,  he  used  to  say,  once  having  been  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  preach  upon,  gave  as  a  reason  that  there 
was  in  that  place  "  no  state  of  things ;"  there  being  a 
vast  difference  betv/een  preaching  to  people  with  a 
certain  end  in  view,  and  preaching  on  a  subject  or  any 
subject  at  large.  Theological  students  from  the  pha- 
lanx of  colporteurs  understood  people  when  they  reached 
parishes  to  preach  to. 

The  American  Messenger,  lineal  descendant  of 
the  American  Tract  Magazine,  a  popular  monthly  sheet, 
having  reached  a  circulation  of  200,000  copies,  kept  its 
readers  posted  in  colporteur  work,  thus  keeping  alive 
their  zeal  in  supporting  it.  An  edition  in  German  was 
called  for  and  issued  for  the  large  German  population 
coming  to  our  shores.  The  Christian  Almanac,  was 
enlarged,  and  adorned  by  the  best  quality  of  wood-cuts. 

In  1852,  an  illustrated  paper  for  the  young  was 
projected,  called  The  Child's  Paper,  In  paper  and 
execution  much  superior  to  any  child's  paper  then  In 
existence.  It  gained  swift  recognition  and  a  wide  circu- 
lation— in  1869,  before  it  had  a  host  of  followers,  355,000 
copies.  Though  for  many  years  under  the  literary 
editorship  of  Mrs.  H.  C.  Knight  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
its  articles  passed  under  the  eye  of  Dr.  Hallock.  He 
was  editor  of  every  work  issued  by  the  Society.     Emen- 

Dr.  Hallock,  X  I 


82  DR.   VVILLlAAf  A.  HALLOCK, 

dations  of  old  works  were  made  according  to  his  judg- 
ment, and  new  manuscripts  were  submitted  to  his  care- 
ful reading  and  revision.  In  his  correspondence  with 
authors,  not  always  an  easy  or  cheerful  task,  he  was 
frank,  prompt,  and  courteous ;  even  if  their  own  self- 
appreciation  did  not  always  coincide  with  his  views, 
they  felt  he  was  considerate  and  conscientious  In  form- 
ing them. 

Every  book  and  paper  issued  were  also  read  and 
approved  by  the  Publishing  Committee,  consisting  of 
six  clergymen,  no  two  of  whom  were  from  the  same 
denomination,  and  nothmg  was  published  which  any 
member  could  find  fault  with  or  object  to.  For  forty- 
five  years.  Dr.  Hallock  attended  every  meeting  of  this 
committee  held  monthly  at  the  Tract  House,  when  the 
fullest  expression  of  opinions  was  sought  and  given. 

The  catholic  basis  of  the  Society  was  scrupulously 
adhered  to  and  rigidly  guarded.  In  spite  of  grave  fears 
in  the  beginning.  Its  catholicity  had  wrought  marvel- 
lously well,  binding  together  in  one  compact  and  effec- 
tive body  earnest  men  from  all  branches  of  the 
church,  and  all  parts  of  the  country,  willing  to  hold  in 
abeyance  minor  differences  of  rehglous  opinion  "in 
order  to  diffuse,"  according  to  the  terms  of  agreement, 
"a  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Redeemer 
of  sinners,  and  to  promote  the  interests  of  vital  godli- 
ness and  sound  morality  by  the  circulation  of  books 
calculated  to  receive  the  approbation  of  all  evangelical 
Christians." 

The  union  seemed  a  marked  success.   Crowded  audi- 


COLPORTAGE,  AND  CONFLICT,  83 

ences  met  at  its  May  anniversaries  to  listen  to  the  fervid 
recitals  of  its  frontier  agents,  or  the  grateful  testimony 
of  a  foreign  missionary  to  its  helpful  beneficence  in  far- 
off  lands,  or  the  best  utterances  of  our  ablest  men 
eloquently  advocating  its  wise  and  educating  ministry. 
Meetings  in  Western  and  Southern  cities  were  also  held 
from  time  to  time  by  its  agents  and  friends,  to  root  the 
Society's  claims  in  the  intelligent  sympathy  and  co- 
operation of  growing  Christian  communities. 

Dr.  Hallock  not  only  conducted  the  correspondence 
of  the  Publishing  Department,  but  the  large  foreign 
correspondence  with  mission  fields  in  nearly  every 
part  of  the  world  fell  to  his  charge. 

"Its  magnitude  would  amaze  one  now,  with  our 
sub-division  of  service,"  said  a  gentleman  who  knew 
the  burdens  he  bore,  and  bore  with  such  a  wholesome 
heroism. 

These  years  of  the  Society's  ever-widening  useful- 
ness were  years  of  faithful  toil  to  the  man  whose  force 
of  will  and  power  of  concentration  chiefly  controlled  it. 
He  loved  the  work;  he  believed  and  rejoiced  in  it. 

"This  tree  of  knowledge  is  a  grand  and  goodly 
tree,"  used  to  be  a  favorite  expression  of  one  of  the 
Society's  oldest  and  stanchest  friends — "  a  grand  and 
goodly  tree,  which  bears  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  yield- 
ing her  fruit  every  month ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations." 

Meanwhile,  a  little  cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man's 
hand,  but  with  ragged  edges  and  portentous  look,  was 
rising  in  the  moral  and  political  sky,  and  gusts  from  the 


84  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

"  irrepressible  conflict"  filled  the  air  with  vague  alarms. 
Middle-aged  men,  inheriting  from  their  fathers  a  still 
vivid  sense  of  the  blood  and  cost  by  which  our  national 
life  was  born  at  all,  and  our  national  government  estab- 
lished to  preserve  that  life  for  coming  generations, 
shrank  from  a  new  strife.  Slavery  had  been  accepted 
and  was  protected  by  the  Constitution,  and  to  disturb 
the  settled  order  of  things  seemed  fraught  with  name- 
less peril.  Not  that  slavery  was  right,  or  any  the  less  a 
strange  anomaly  among  a  free  people,  but  it  was  here, 
and  had  regulations  which  outsiders  were  bound  to 
respect.  Nor  was  it  until  slavery  took  measures  to 
extend  its  area,  that  any  wide  agitation  began.  As  soon 
as  the  general  government  was  called  upon  to  act  in  refer- 
ence to  it,  the  people  of  every  state  shared  in  the  respon- 
sibility of  that  action,  and  the  subject  was  fairly  before 
the  tribunal  of  the  people,  no  longer  to  be  ignored  or 
disowned  or  silenced  or  put  down.  Not  a  house  or 
hamlet  but  had  its  mind  made  up,  and  every  Christian 
body  was  called  upon  to  show  its  colors,  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society,  with  its  large  constituency  north 
and  south  among  the  rest. 

To  satisfy  both  was  plainly  impossible,  and  to  tem- 
porize is  always  a  hard  road  to  travel.  It  was  charged 
with  mutilations  and  suppressions  in  its  issues,  some 
of  them  made,  it  was  asserted,  in  the  interest  of  slavery. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  examine  the  truth  of 
this  charge,  and  nothing  was  found  but  those  revisions, 
abridgments  and  changes,  which  hymns  as  well  as 
books   undergo   to   fit  them   for  larger   uses,  without 


COLPORTAGE,  A  AD  CONFLICT.  85 

infringing  the  rights  or  betraying  the  sentiments  of  their 
authors. 

Its  silence  upon  a  subject,  widely  regarded  as  of  vital 
importance,  was  considered  a  grave  matter.  Its  officers 
and  counsellors  held  to  the  words  of  the  compact,  to 
circulate  only  that  which  was  "  calculated  to  receive  the 
approbation  of  all  evangelical  Christians,"  while  many 
of  its  friends  discerned,  as  they  thought,  that  in  the 
interests  of  "  sound  morality  "  there  had  arisen  one  of 
those  tidal  waves  of  righteousness  which  sweep  away 
our  beaten  tracks  of  sight  and  endeavor,  however  long 
or  successfully  we  may  have  pursued  them. 

Such  times  are  the  times  which  try  men's  souls. 
The  numerous  papers  produced  by  the  heated  discus- 
sions of  that  day,  which  now  seems  so  far  away  and 
long  ago,  with  the  embarrassments,  alienations  and 
heartburnings  following  them,  are  a  part  of  the  great 
tribulation  through  which  our  nation  passed  to  a  cleaner 
and  truer  life.  No  one  felt  more  keenly  than  Dr.  Hal- 
lock  the  painfulness  of  the  situation  ;  and  when  the  war 
finally  broke  all  truces,  no  one  welcomed  more  heartily 
the  hour  that  struck  for  freedom,  and  for  ever  put  to 
rest  all  controversy  on  a  subject  which  had  so  long 
embittered  and  endangered  our  national  unity. 


86  DR,  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

CHAPTER   IX. 
THE  END, 

The  year  1859  was  marked  by  pleasant  changes  in 
the  family  circle. 

Fanny,  Dr.  Hallock's  youngest  daughter,  married 
Mr.  John  E.  Johnson,  who  came  to  reside  for  a  time 
beneath  his  roof  A  few  weeks  later,  his  eldest  left  for  a 
home  but  a  few  streets  away,  the  wife  of  Mr.  Rufus  Park. 

As  children  were  born  in  his  household,  the  relation 
of  grandparent  opened  a  new  spring  of  delight.  It 
was  sometimes  droll  to  see  the  grave  secretary  at  play 
with  a  baby  on  his  back,  or  cooing  baby  lingo  to  a 
smiling  httle  one  on  his  knee ;  or  if  sickness  overtook 
the  cradle,  to  see  his  loving  efforts  to  soothe  the  rest- 
lessness or  hush  the  moanings  of  the  little  sufferer. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  death  stepped  over  the  thresh- 
old and  took  the  patient  and  gentle  wife.  "This  is 
not  dying,"  she  said,  "it  is  living."  Every  expression 
of  her  feelings  was  in  the  tone  of  "  I  am  going  home." 
The  word  dying  was  not  spoken  by  her ;  she  seemed 
not  to  think  of  it.  The  way  was  never  in  view,  only 
its  glorious  goal. 

"  Perhaps  I  ought  not  think  about  meeting  friends 
in  heaven,"  she  said  to  her  sister,  "  but  only  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  yet  to-night  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  father  and 
mother,  brother  Charles,  and    Harriet,  and  Charlotte, 


THE  END.  87 

and  Joanna — yes,  I  know  they  will   come   with  open 
arms  to  receive  me." 

Dr.  Hallock's  letter  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Spaulding  at 
Oodooville,  Ceylon,  informing  them  of  his  loss,  again 
opens  the  window  of  this  Christian  home. 

"  New  York,  Sabbath  Evening,  March  17,  1867. 

''Dear  brother  and  sister  Spaulding:  Must  I  say 
it  ? — my  dear  wife  has  written  you  her  last  letter.  Last 
Sabbath  evening  at  half-past  eight  she  '  went  home ' 
with  peaceful  unwavering  trust,  to  the  arms  of  her 
Redeemer.  The  keynote  of  her  life  was  love  of  mis- 
sions ;  and  perhaps  to  none,  at  home  or  abroad,  was 
she  more  attached  than  to  both  of  you.  Her  almost 
idolized  elder  sister,  Mrs.  Harriet  L.  Winslow,  devoted 
herself  to  the  mission  in  Ceylon,  amidst  much  opposi- 
tion from  friends  around  her;  and  I  believe  you  two 
alone  survive  of  the  heroic  '  Indus  band ' — Messrs. 
Winslow,  Scudder,  Poor,  Spaulding,  Woodward,  and 
their  wives,  who  sailed  in  1819,  when  I\Irs.  Winslow 
wrote  that  she  wished  to  send  home  the  joyful  news  by 
writing  on  the  moon,  'A  Revival  at  Sea^  You 
watched  over  Mrs.  Winslow  at  her  death ;  you  wel- 
comed Mrs.  Hallock's  three  younger  sisters,  Charlotte, 
Elizabeth,  and  Harriet  Joanna,  as  missionaries  in  India  ; 
and  the  graves  of  three  of  her  sisters  are  under  your 
eye  at  Oodooville,  where  you  expect  your  bodies  will 
also  rest  till  the  resurrection. 

"  I  too,  before  I  knew  anything  of  any  of  the  above 
named,  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  mission  in  Ceylon. 
James  Richards  of  Plainfield,  in  the  Green  mountains 


88  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

of  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  five  members  of  Wilhams 
College  who  about  1808,  under  the  haystack,  *  prayed  into 
existence  American  Foreign  Missions,'  as  Dr.  Grifhn 
said,  was  son  of  a  deacon  of  my  father  s  church,  and 
his  noble  wife  Sarah  Bardwell  was  from  a  neighboring 
town.  I  saw  them  married  and  depart  for  their  mission 
in  Ceylon,  where  their  bodies  also  rest  under  your  own 
eye. 

•*  Wonderfully  did  God  guide  my  path.  My  life 
work  is  in  the  Publishing  and  Foreign  departments  of 
the  American  Tract  Society;  but  two  or  three  years 
after  we  had  organized  it  at  New  York  in  1825,  I 
preached  In  Norwich  city  to  organize  an  Auxiliary 
Society  and  obtain  funds ;  when  I  was  told  that  in  Nor- 
wich town  little  would  be  done  by  gentlemen,  but  if  I 
would  call  on  some  of  the  ladies,  probably  thirty  or 
forty  dollars  might  be  raised.  The  name  of  my  dear 
wife  was  then  given  me  among  others ;  and  for  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  years  she  has  been  the  light  of  my 
dweUing,  and  the  joy  of  my  heart,  '  my  helper  in  Christ,' 

"  She  was  ever  ready  to  join  in  efforts  to  sustain 
feeble  churches,  maternal  associations,  female  prayer- 
meetings,  and  in  everything  whereby  good  could  be 
done  and  my  usefulness  increased,  or  my  heart  cheered 
and  strengthened  for  the  work  of  God.  Her  good 
mother,  widowed  soon  after  our  marriage,  was  with  us 
sixteen  years  till  her  death  ;  the  visits  of  her  younger 
sisters  before  leaving  for  India  were  sweet  hallowed 
seasons ;  our  two  surviving  daughters  early  joined 
themselves  to  God's  people,  and  with  their  four  Httle 


THE  END.  89 

ones,  all  with  or  near  us,  were  a  constant  balm  to  her 
spirit,  till  the  hour  of  her  departure.  She  was  the  de- 
voted mother  of  six  children,  the  first  two  and  the  last 
two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  When  her  arms  were 
emptied  and  her  heart  desolated  the  second  time,  by 
the  death  of  a  beautiful  son  one  year  old,  bearing  his 
father's  name,  I  marvelled  to  hear  her  calm  but  firm  re- 
quest, knowing  how  happy  she  had  been  in  dressing 
him  every  morning :  '  Well,  I  must  wash  and  dress  him 
once  viore."  In  training  her  surviving  daughters,  she, 
like  her  mother  before  her,  seemed  ever  to  dread  the 
intrusion  of  any  unhallowed  thought.  She  shrunk  from 
the  slightest  approach  to  even  the  confines  of  vice. 
'  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it,  turn  from  it,  and  pass  away.' 

"  Every  day  of  my  life  I  have  been  thankful  to  God 
for  giving  me  such  a  loving,  genial,  cheerful,  buoyant 
and  to  me  fascinating  companion ;  such  a  mother  of 
my  children ;  such  a  whole-souled,  discreet,  calm,  judi- 
cious friend  and  counsellor  in  the  toils  and  trials,  the 
sorrows  and  joys  of  my  pilgrimage.  With  instinctive 
wisdom  and  unswerving  fidelity  did  she  fulfil  the  obli- 
gations she  saw  to  be  devolving  upon  her  in  the  varied 
relations  she  was  called  to  sustain. 

"What  can  I  do  but  thank  my  compassionate  Sa- 
viour for  the  gift,  and  that  he  gave  her  to  me  so  long. 
'I  shall  go  to  her;  but  she  will  not  return  to  me.'  May 
her  prayers  be  answered  in  a  gracious  guidance  and 
support  from  on  high  till  I  join  her  in  the  songs  above. 

"Your  affectionate  brother  and  fellow -laborer, 

"WILLIAiM  A.  HALLOCK." 

Dr.  Hallock,  12 


90  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

Every  associate  both  in  private  and  public  life  bore 
tribute  to  her  Christian  worth. 

Dr.  Hallock  afterwards  married  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Lathrop  of  Brockport,  N.  Y.,  the  author  of  seven  in- 
teresting volumes  for  the  young,  published  by  the 
Tract  Society.  She  became  the  cheerful  companion 
and  strong  staff  of  his  declining  years. 

Invitations  to  his  "  Golden  wedding  "  on  September 
26,  1872,  bewildered  and  surprised  his  friends. 

Mr.  Hallock  used  sometimes  playfully  to  call  the 
Tract  Society  his  first  wife;  with  this  key  the  summons 
plainly  was  to  attend  the  anniversary  of  his  first  espousals, 
which  had  taken  place  at  Andover  fifty  years  before — 
a  striking  illustration  of  the  hold  which  it  had  on  his 
strong  and  tenacious  nature.  The  work  had  become 
a  part  of  his  being,  wrought  into  the  very  fibre  of  his 
earthly  life. 

Among  the  guests  of  this  festal  occasion,  Mr.  East- 
man, Mr.  Kingsbury,  Moses  Allen,  Mr.  Wetmore  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Halliday  of  early  days,  were  there,  to  recall 
with  tender  and  grateful  feelings  the  personal  consecra- 
tions and  Christian  fellowships,  which  had  been  so 
richly  blest  for  human  good. 

From  the  letters  of  those  who  could  not  be  present 
we  quote  these  words  by  Dr.  W.  R.  Williams  of  New 
York: 

"  Fifty  years  unbroken  and  successful  service  in  the 
work  of  one  of  our  great  religious  societies  is  more 
than  falls  to  the  lot  of  many  of  Christ's  laborers.  In  a 
world  of  change  and  death  it  were  idle  to  wish  that 


THE  END. 


91 


these  should  be  supplemented  by  fifty  more  years.  But 
if  this  cannot  be  expected  or  desired,  it  is  allowed  us  to 
hope  and  pray  that,  for  many  times  fifty  years,  the 
influence  exerted  may  continue,  under  God's  blessing, 
in  the  usefulness  of  the  Society  you  have  long  and 
warmly  loved.  'Justin  Edwards'  and  'Harlan  Page' 
and  the  *  Mountain  Miller,'  and  your  own  good  uncle 
and  father,  though  no  longer  in  the  body  among  us,  yet 
by  character  and  principles  are  still  living  and  effective 
among  the  laborers  and  witnesses  of  the  American 
Tract  Society.  Your  own  pen  has  aided  to  give  to 
these  worthies  their  prolonged  career  and  their  widely- 
expanded  currency. 

"  And  when  the  biographer  shall  have  gone  to  join 
in  person  the  friends  whom  he  has  commemorated,  it 
will  be  the  joy  of  your  friends  who  yet  tarry  behind  on 
the  earth  to  think  of  the  great  work  of  your  earthly  career 
as  still  moving  onward.  The  blessed  Saviour  give  you 
light  in  the  evening  of  the  earthly  day,  and  crown  the 
grace  of  the  long  past  with  the  eternal  glory  of  the 
heavenly  future." 

A  city  pastor  writes  as  follows : 

"I  regret  exceedingly  that  circumstances  prevent 
me  from  being  present  this  evening  to  participate  in  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  labors  for  the  American 
Tract  Society.  This  is  a  most  remarkable  service  both 
as  to  length  of  time  and  abundant  fruits,  and  furnishes 
the  occasion  of  congratulation  and  gratitude  to  God. 
You  have  been  a  most  faithful  and  devoted  servant,  as 
thousands  in  the  church  below  and  above  can  testify, 


92  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

and  great  will  be  your  reward.  I  preserve,  as  a  valua- 
ble relic,  a  commission  signed  by  your  hand  more  than 
thirty -five  years  ago,  to  labor  as  colporteur  under  the 
auspices  of  the  American  Tract  Society." 

Mr.  Glen  Wood,  superintendent  of  colportage  at 
Chicago,  exclaims  from  his  Western  post : 

"  My  impulse  is  to  rush  to  the  cars  and  make  sure 
to  be  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  our  beloved  father's 
labors  for  the  cause  of  God ;  but  the  pressure  of  duties 
holds  me  here  Irresistibly. 

"  I  recall  with  profound  interest  the  occasion,  thirty 
years  ago,  when  a  few  friends  were  assembled  in  the 
parlors  of  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  to 
congratulate  yourself  and  other  officers  of  the  Society 
upon  the  sending  out  of  the  first  band  of  colporteurs, 
of  whom  I  had  the  honor  to  be  one. 

"  How  has  that  little  band  increased  and  multiplied, 
until  it  is  counted  by  hundreds,  and  its  fruits  shake  hke 
Lebanon.  I  look  over  the  vast  prairies  and  forests  of 
the  great  Northwest,  and  I  see  now  annually  gathered 
into  the  churches  here  as  the  immediate  results  of  the 
labors  of  colporteurs,  more  souls  than  the  most  san- 
guine expectations  of  my  early  manhood  contemplated 
as  a  satisfactory  result  of  a  long  and  successful  life's 
work. 

"What  hath  God  wrought!  And  your  eyes  see 
the  glorious  results,  and  your  heart  enjoys,  even  while 
yet  in  the  flesh,  the  dawn  of  the  day  when  righteous- 
ness shall  cover  the  earth  even  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea." 


THE  END.  93 

A  favorite  nephew  thus  speaks  of  a  journey  made 
with  him  at  fourscore  years  or  more : 

"  I  recall  with  pleasure  the  trip  that  Uncle  William 
and  I  made  to  the  eastern  part  of  Long  Island  in  search 
of  our  ancestral  footprints  :  the  tender  regard  which  he 
ever  felt  for  those  *  dear  old  saints  *  was  something 
beautiful.  He  did  not  know  that  he  himself  had  more 
than  attained  '  unto  the  days  of  the  years  of  his  fathers,' 
and  was  the  very  embodiment  of  those  ancestral  virtues 
which  he  reverently  admired;  but  it  was  true,  and  I 
studied  them  in  him  even  more  than  in  those  crumbling 
stones  and  yellow  records.  He  had  the  zeal  of  youth, 
and  lived  over  again  the  early  sacrifices  of  the  godly 
men  in  that  lively  way  peculiar  to  him,  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. 

"  Once  as  we  walked,  he  was  recounting  the  timidity 
of  his  own  early  faith,  the  doubts  that  encompassed  his 
limited  horizon.  *  But  now,'  said  he,  as  he  turned  and 
looked  off  with  beaming  face  from  the  hill  we  had  al- 
most surmounted,  '  there  is  not  a  doubt,  not  one.  It  is 
bright,  all  bright  as  this  summer  sky;  all  is  sure  in 
Christ !'  No  boy  could  have  been  more  buoyant  than 
he  when  at  eighty  he  climbed  over  those  Litchfield 
hills  ;  nature  always  made  him  young !" 

Before  this.  Dr.  Hallock  had  retired  from  active 
duty.  Rev.  W.  W.  Rand,  long  his  beloved  associate 
in  literary  labor,  having  succeeded  him  in  the  Publishing 
Department,  while  Dr.  J.  M.  Stevenson  assumed  the 
charge  of  the  Foreign  Field  and  Colportage,  and 
Rev.  G.  L.  Shearer  of  the  Financial  Department.     As 


94  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

Honorary  Secretary,  Dr.  Hallock  was  still  the  revered 
"father"  of  the  large  company  of  co-workers,  who, 
each  in  his  lot  and  place,  round  out  this  great  institu- 
tion. 

It  was  hard,  at  first,  to  let  go  his  hold  on  the  respon- 
sible trusts  of  the  Tract  House  and  see  others  fill  his 
place.  Its  vast  interests  had  grown  up  under  his  vigi- 
lant eye  and  indomitable  energy,  and  habits  of  toil 
like  his  do  not  easily  yield  even  to  waning  strength. 
It  cost  him  a  struggle  to  stand  aside;  but  when  the 
situation  was  fully  accepted,  a  sweet  and  tender  spirit 
breathed  its  mellow  richness  through  his  soul,  and  life 
peacefully  ebbed  away,  till  at  last  he  fell  asleep,  Oct.  2, 
1880,  aged  86. 

"  Blessed  rest 
Whose  waking  is  supremely  blest." 

All  his  early  associates  were  gone.  Mr.  East- 
man with  a  lifelong  identity  of  official  interests,  had 
died  a  few  years  before.  After  nearly  twenty  years  of 
faithful  service,  Mr.  Cook,  with  failing  health  had  with- 
drawn from  the  Society  and  spent  his  last  years  in  an- 
other field  of  effort.  Mr.  Wilder,  Dr.  Milnor,  the  Tap- 
pans,  his  brother  Gerard,  and,  last  in  the  long  list.  Dr. 
William  Adams,  under  whose  ministry  he  had  sat  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  had  passed  into  the  unseen  and 
eternal.  The  sudden  death  of  Dr.  Adams,  a  few 
weeks  previously,  deeply  affected  him,  and  though 
he  was  swifdy  following,  he  carried  with  him  a  sore 
sense  of  bereavement  to  the  end.     A  sincere  friendship 


THE  EXD.  95 

had  existed  between  them  with  recollections  dating 
back  to  their  early  days  at  Andover,  when  Dr.  Adams* 
father  was  principal  of  Phillips  Academy,  often  extend- 
ing his  cordial  hospitalities  to  the  students  of  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  on  the  hill.  An  official  bond  also  had 
united  them.  Dr.  Adams  having  been  for  twenty-two 
years  a  member  of  the  Publishing  Committee  of  the 
Tract  Society,  they  had  discussed  its  issues  together 
through  the  most  trying  period  of  its  history. 

Each  recognized  and  revered  the  excellences  of  the 
other ;  the  great  preacher  felt  grateful  and  helped  by 
the  devout  and  appreciative  spirit  of  the  strong  man 
who  sat  humbly  before  him,  while  Dr.  Hallock  listened 
with  love  and  profit  to  the  old  Bible  truths  so  familiar 
to  him  through  the  robust  handling  of  Baxter  and 
Flavel,  yet  ever  new  under  the  felicitous  expositions  of 
his  beloved  pastor  and  friend. 

The  forecasting  and  exactness  which  characterized 
him  as  a  business  man  shone  conspicuously  in  his  writ- 
ten wishes  concerning  his  burial.  His  body  rests  in 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  by  the  side  of  his  wife  and  four 
children,  in  the  same  plot  with  that  of  his  brother 
Gerard,  with  this  simple  inscription  in  his  own  words 
on  the  marble  above : 

William  Allen  Hallock,  D.  D.,  forty-five  years 
Secretary  of  the  American  Tract  Society.  Born  Plain- 
field,  Mass.,  June  2,  1794.     Died  Oct.  2,  1880. 

His  eldest  daughter  Harriet  (Mrs.  Park)  from  early 
girlhood  showed  the  ardent  love  for  work  which  char- 
acterized her  father.     Every  branch  of  service  in  her 


96  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

church  as  she  grew  up  was  gladdened  and  quickened 
by  her  helpful  presence.  Her  pastor  used  playfully  to 
call  her  the  "Hur"  who  held  up  his  hands.  A  long 
career  of  active  usefulness  seemed  open  before  her, 
upon  which  she  entered  with  joyful  alacrity. 

But  this  was  not  the  divine  plan  for  her.  Scarcely 
over  the  threshold  of  her  married  hfe,  her  feet  were 
set  in  a  narrower  and  harder  way.  A  disorder  of  the 
heart  slowly  developed  itself  which  confined  her  at^ 
home.  Under  the  sharp  discipline  ol  pain,  for  eighteen 
years,  she  bore  the  rare  fruit  of  true  acquiescence  in 
the  divine  will.  Fulfilling  the  duties  of  wife  and  mother 
with  loving  exactness,  her  patience  and  self-forgetful- 
ness  filled  the  house  with  their  sweetness,  and  helped 
others  bear  for  her  and  with  her  the  heavy  weight  of 
her  sufierings.  And  while  she  felt  herself  shut  out  from 
*'  doing  good,"  it  would  have  surprised  her  to  find  how 
many  precious  lessons  in  the  heavenly  life  were  borne 
from  her  sick-room,  as  by  unseen  messengers,  into 
wider  circles  and  to  unknown  friends. 

She  was  taken  to  see  her  father  before  his  death, 
and  bade  him  a  "good  night,"  which  was  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  the  "good  morning"  of  a  brighter  and 
longer  day. 

Three  months  of  increased  bodily  distress  followed, 
which  made  her  long  for  the  final  relief  And  when 
it  came,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1881,  it  was  sweet 
to  go  where  the  inhabitants  shall  no  more  say,  "  I  am 
sick." 


THE  EXD.  97 

"  The  briefest  portraiture  of  Dr.  Hallock's  character 
must  note  three  marked  traits,"  said  Dr.  Stevenson  at 
the  burial  service,  "singleness  of  purpose,  force  of  will, 
persistency  in  work. 

*'  Of  no  name  preserved  in  history,  described  in 
biography,  or  embalmed  in  poetry — of  no  living  states- 
man, civilian,  or  divine — can  it  be  said  with  more  truth 
or  firmer  emphasis,  *  This  one  thing  I  do,'  than  of  him 
in  the  work  to  which  he  gave  himself — the  preparation 
and  circulation  of  the  essential  truths  of  the  gospel  by 
the  press;  his  object  the  glory  of  Christ,  his  purpose  to 
win  souls,  his  instrumentality  printed  truth.  To  this 
one  thing  he  devoted  all  his  energies,  and  from  it  never 
swerved.  No  calls  to  other  forms  of  Christian  labor 
pressed  upon  him  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  public  life, 
no  less  laborious  or  more  lucrative  department  in  the 
Master's  vineyard  had  for  him  the  least  fascination  or 
turned  his  thoughts  for  a  moment  from  his  chosen  task. 
The  claims  of  social  life,  the  calls  of  civil  society,  the 
sacred  duties  of  home  and  family  were  all  discharged 
with  scrupulous  fidelity,  but  without  forgetting  for  one 
hour  the  single  aim  of  his  being.  With  the  fixedness 
of  the  needle  to  the  ^pole,  with  the  certainty  and  the 
inexorableness  of  the  law  of  gravitation,  his  eye,  his 
mind,  his  heart  was  ever  upon  this  one  thing. 

"  Other  men  of  equal  or  greater  endowments  have 
difiused  their  energies,  and,  to  our  vision,  weakened 
their  influence,  by  giving  attention  to  a  great  diversity 
of  plans  in  their  work  for  Christ.  It  may  be  to  the 
Omniscient  mind  that  this  diffused  energy  is  not  lost 

Pr.  Hallock.  I  -^ 


98  ■  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

but  conserved,  and  by  him  directed  to  his  high  purposes 
in  ways  we  cannot  comprehend.  But  our  sainted  father 
let  no  divided  interest  thwart  his  purpose  or  divert  his 
thought  from  the  one  aim  of  his  being — the  preparation 
and  circulation  of  saving  truth  by  the  press. 

"To  this  concentrated  purpose  must  be  added  a 
second  trait — a  force  of  will  rarely  equalled,  in  our 
observation  never  surpassed  among  cultured  Christian 
workers.  A  will  meaning  ever  to  be  directed  and  gov- 
erned by  the  will  of  God. 

"  When  fully  convinced  of  the  rightness  of  a  given 
course  of  action,  and  assured  of  its  tendency  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  Christ  as  committed  to  him,  the 
obstacles  which  would  have  appalled  common  minds 
had  no  power  to  shake  his  purpose,  or  weaken  his 
resolve,  *  This  one  thing  /  do.  Others  may  judge  for 
themselves.  Every  man  must  give  account  of  himself 
to  God,  but  as  for  me  I  cannot  otherwise !'  As  Luther 
was  urged  on  to  Worms,  as  Paul  passed  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem, so  Dr.  Hallock  allowed  no  timid  fears  or  hesitating 
and  dissuading  friends  to  check  his  resolute  execution 
of  what  to  him  was  clearly  a  duty. 

"  If  this  resoluteness  of  will  sometimes  seemed  to 
take  too  little  account  of  the  judgment  and  will  of  oth- 
ers, it  arose  from  no  conscious  imperiousness  of  pur- 
pose, but  solely  from  the  undoubting  conviction  that 
what  was  clear  to  him  must  be  right  in  the  sight  of 
God,  for,  with  this  forceful  will  was  still  connected  the 
most  childlike  simplicity  of  character  and  the  most 
transparent  sincerity  and  humility  of  heart. 


THE  END.  99 

"  And  this  leads  to  the  third  noteworthy  trait  in 
the  character  of  Dr.  Hallock :  a  conscientious  persis- 
tency in  work — a  persistency  which  no  failures  in  plans 
or  accumulation  of  discouragements  could  affect. 

"  It  must  be  that  the  man  who  shall  mark  out  a 
lifework  for  himself  of  so  difficult  a  nature,  and  in  a 
path  so  little  trodden  as  w^as  his,  when  he  chose  it, 
shall  meet  unexpected  obstacles  and  at  times  be  over- 
whelmed with  responsibilities ;  but  with  Dr.  Hallock 
these  were  brushed  aside  with  the  ease  of  an  ancient 
habit.  Labor  in  his  chosen  vocation  was  the  joy  of  his 
being,  and  unceasing  persistency  the  sum  of  his  hfe. 
With  a  physical  system  developed  and  matured  in  the 
bracing  air  of  New  England  farm -life,  with  a  constitu- 
tion flexible  and  tough  as  tempered  steel,  an  intellect 
stalwart,  acute,  and  trained  to  activity,  unending  labor 
seemed  no  toil  to  him — This  one  thing  I  do.  Of  his 
long  and  happy  domestic  life,  his  affectionate  and  de- 
voted children,  his  personal  consecration  to  Christ,  his 
nearness  to  the  cross  in  the  closet,  the  prayer-meeting, 
and  the  Committee-room,  his  love  for  Foreign  Missions, 
his  wide  views  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  his  utter 
consecration  to  its  extension,  his  entire  life  was  proof 
and  embodiment. 

"  Now  combine  this  singleness  of  purpose,  this  reso- 
luteness of  will,  and  this  incessant  and  efficient  labor  in 
one  person,  baptize  him  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  with 
fire,  consecrate  him  for  50  years  to  the  most  glorious 
work,  next  to  preaching  the  gospel  with  the  living 
voice,  to  which  man   or  angel  was   ever  called,  and 


100  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLGCK. 

what   may  not  such   a  man    accomplish    towards   the 
evangehzation  of  the  world?      Such  a  man  was  our 
revered  father,  Rev.  William  A.  Hallock,  D.  D." 
His  associate,  Mr.  Rand,  said  at  the  funeral, 
"  The  career  of  Dr.  Hallock  is  a  fine  illustration  of 
the  truth  that  when  God  has  some  grand  work  to  be 
done,  he  prepares  and  furnishes  the  man  for  that  work. 
Father  Hallock's  lifevvork  was,  to  found  the  American 
Tract  Society,  shape  its  character  and  sphere,  develop 
and  mould  its  growth.     For  this  great  work  he  was 
peculiarly  endowed,  not  only  with  the  natural  qualities 
just  described,  essential  to  success,  but  with  what  was 
equally  important,  a  thorough  religious  training  from 
childhood  up,  and  such  a  spiritual  experience  as  brought 
his  whole  after-life  under  the  power  of  the  unseen  world 
and  of  the  doctrines  of  grace.     Without  any  morbid 
views  about  sanctification,  he  had  that  practical  conse- 
cration that  kept  him  day  and  night  at  work  for  Christ. 
Leaving  the  seminary  at  Andover  fifty-eight  years  ago 
full  of  missionary  zeal,  he  plunged  with  characteristic 
ardor  and  self-sacrifice  into  tract  work  as  agent  for  two 
years  of  the  New  England  Tract  Society  at  Andover. 
In  this  work  he  soon  learned  the  necessity  and  wisdom 
of  three  things:  i,  the  formation  of  a  National  Tract 
Society  to  combine  all  the  local  societies ;    2,  that  it 
should  be  a  Uyiion  Society,  including  all  evangelical  de- 
nominations;   and  3,  as  the  result  of  conference  with 
Christians  in  New  York,  that  It  should  be  located  In 
this   metropolis.      After  earnest  and  prayerful  confer- 
ence with  the  leading  men  of  the  existing  society  in 


THE  END.  1 01 

New  York,  this  Society  was  organized  May,  1S25,  and 
the  Society  at  Boston  became  its  most  efficient  auxiU- 
ary.  He  was  chosen  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
new  Society,  and  was  reelected  for  forty-five  years.  For 
several  years  he  was  sole  Secretary,  and  though  as  the 
work  expanded  many  others  were  associated  with  him, 
he  still  retained  the  Publishing  and  Foreign  Depart- 
ments in  his  control. 

"  And  what  was  his  work  ? 

"  To  examine  with  care  every  manuscript,  tract,  and 
book  offered  for  publication,  and  select  the  best.  To 
submit  them  for  perusal  to  the  Publishing  Committee, 
and  revise  for  the  press,  with  the  author's  aid,  such  as 
were  adopted,  and  then  see  them  through  all  the  pro- 
cesses of  publication.  In  1845,  for  example,  he  selected, 
prepared  for  the  press,  and  issued  200  publications,  large 
and  small,  besides  reading  100  that  were  declined,  and 
arranging  for  100  new  ones  .published  by  the  aid  of  the 
Society  at  missionary  stations. 

*'  He  conducted  all  the  correspondence  relating  to 
these  publications  at  home  and  abroad,  including  in  his 
letters  to  missionaries  all  grants  in  aid  of  their  work. 
When  the  '  American  Messenger'  was  commenced  he 
was  the  principal  editor,  and  put  both  it  and  the  '  Child's 
Paper '  to  press,  reading  all  the  proofs  of  book,  paper, 
or  tract,  with  care.  Very  few  men  could  have  accom- 
plished the  amount  of  work  he  performed,  and  that 
from  year  to  year,  with  but  few  and  short  intervals  of 
rest  even  towards  the  last.  His  industry  was  prodi- 
gious— the  wonder  of  those  around  him,  their  stimulus 


102  DR,   WJLLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

and  their  despair.  He  subordinated  everything  to  his 
work.  Many  a  weary  mile  he  threaded  the  city  streets 
to  confer  with  authors,  with  donors,  the  Committee,  or 
influential  friends.  Denying  himself  many  social  en- 
joyments, his  home-hours  early  and  late  were  devoted 
to  work.  At  the  Tract  House  ever  busy,  in  conference 
with  his  associates,  supervising  all  the  manufacturing 
work,  remaining  long  after  all  others  had  gone  home, 
for  those  hours  of  uninterrupted  work  he  loved  so  well, 
and  often  protracting  his  labors  far  into  the  night.  His 
great  task  was  accomplished  not  so  much  by  brilliant 
talents,  as  by  shrewd  good  sense  and  indefatigable 
work. 

"  And  what  were  the  results  ? 

"  The  Tract  Society  stands  to-day  as  his  monument, 
more  enduring  than  brass  and  more  precious  than  fine 
gold.  When  he  laid  down  the  burden  he  had  so  long 
and  so  well  borne,  fifty  years  after  finishing  his  studies, 
he  had  seen  the  Society  advance  from  stage  to  stage  of 
growth — from  issuing  a  few  hundred  tracts  and  an  al- 
manac, to  a  list  of  4,000  publications,  of  which  880  were 
volumes. 

"  The  publications  aided  in  foreign  missionary  fields 
were  nearly  equal  in  number,  though  not  in  size.  He 
had  helped  to  organize  in  turn  Systematic  Tract  Distri- 
bution, the  Volume  Enterprise,  the  system  of  Colpor- 
tage,  and  the  Periodicals  of  the  Society.  He  had  done 
much  to  place  the  Society  in  the  front  rank  of  publishing 
houses  of  the  nation.  He  had  infused  much  of  his  spirit 
of  self- consecration  for  Christ's  sake  into  all  the  work  and 


THE  END.  103 

workers  of  the  Society.  He  had  seen  its  models  imi- 
tated and  its  methods  followed  by  many  others  at  home 
and  abroad ;  had  watched  the  issue  and  circulation  of 
450,000,000  of  books,  tracts,  and  papers;  and  had  him- 
self found  time  to  write  four  volumes  and  five  tracts,  of 
which  more  than  1,400,000  have  been  published.  The 
most  important  of  these  is  the  Memoir  of  Harlan  Page, 
of  which  113,500  have  been  printed,  and  which  has 
done  more  to  promote  living  for  Christ  than  almost 
any  other  book. 

"  In  1870,  at  the  age  of  76,  he  was  elected  Honorary 
Secretary,  and  relieved  of  the  burdens  he  had  borne  so 
long  and  so  well.  With  what  intense  gratitude  and  joy 
he  contemplated  the  work  God  had  empowered  him  to 
originate  and  help  forward  !  What  region  of  the  earth  is 
not  full  of  his  labors !  What  Christian  in  America  has 
not  derived  some  benefit  from  the  publications  of  the 
Society !  W^hat  American  community  anywhere  is  not 
the  better  in  some  way  for  its  influence !  What  does 
not  our  country  and  the  church  and  the  world  owe  to 
the  Institution  he  so  loved !  By  his  quiet  and  unob- 
served toil  he  has  accomplished  what  very  few  are  ever 
so  favored  and  happy  as  to  do.  His  early  associates, 
revered  and  honored  men,  have  gone  before  him  into 
glory — Milnor  and  Spring  and  Knox  and  De  Witt  and 
Mcllvaine  and  Brigham  and  Anderson  and  Sommers, 
and  a  great  host  of  God's  elect ;  and  very  recently  Dr. 
Adams,  his  life-long  friend,  his  former  pastor,  and  his 
fellow- laborer  for  many  years.  It  is  but  a  few  short 
weeks  since  Dr.  Hallock  ventured  from  his  home  of 


104  ^A'.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

sickness  to  attend  the  funeral  of  this  beloved  friend, 
whose  presence  and  whose  half-inspired  words  of  Chris- 
tian condolence  we  so  miss  here  to-day.  But  now  they 
are  both  in  the  presence  of  Christ,  welcomed  by  their 
former  beloved  companions  in  the  kingdom  and  pa- 
tience of  the  saints  with  what  unutterable  delight !  And 
not  only  by  those  known  and  loved  here  will  he  be 
welcomed  there,  but  by  untold  multitudes  here  un- 
known, from  the  East  and  the  West  and  the  North  and 
the  South,  brought  to  Christ  or  aided  in  His  service  by 
the  Society  he  founded  and  the  books  he  edited.  Hap- 
py beyond  compare  the  man  who  serenely  rests  from 
such  labors,  in  the  sure  and  blessed  fruition  of  such  re- 
wards. May  his  spirit  of  consecration,  of  diligence,  of 
singleness  of  eye  to  the  glory  of  Christ,  characterize  the 
Institution  he  loved  to  the  end  of  time,  and  be  an  inspi- 
ration to  all  who  serve  his  Lord  and  ours." 

At  the  same  service  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.  D., 
said :  "  We  live  in  the  present,  but  we  are  always 
facing  the  future.  *  Memory,'  said  another,  *  presides 
over  the  past,  duty  over  the  present,  and  hope  over  the 
future.'  As  to  the  past,  '  God  requireth  that  which  is 
past.'  As  to  the  present,  he  says,  '  Now  is  the  accepted 
time.'  As  to  the  future  he  says,  *  Hope  thou  in  God.' 
We  are  assembled  this  morning  to  look  back  upon  the 
past,  and  think  what  this  dear  father  in  Israel  has  been 
in  his  life  and  work,  and  to  look  forward  to  the  future 
and  think  what  he  is  now  when  he  has  entered  into  the 
joys  of  his  Lord. 

"  Dr.  Isaac  Taylor  says   that  *  every  man  living  in 


THE  EiVD.  105 

a  state  of  grace  is  a  perpetual  miracle.'  This  was  true 
of  Paul:  *  By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am.'  There 
is  no  accounting  for  the  life  and  work  of  such  a  man 
as  Paul,  except  upon  the  supposition  of  a  divine  influ- 
ence working  in  him  and  making  him  what  he  was. 
Circumstances  could  not  make  such  a  man;  education, 
civilization  never  wrought  such  results ;  unbelief  is 
dumb  before  the  problem  of  such  a  life.  Hence  Paul 
himself  stands  out  as  the  highest  proof  of  Christianity, 
just  because  he  is  the  most  conspicuous  illustration  of 
the  grace  of  God. 

"  The  same  is  true  in  a  measure  of  the  life  of  Dr. 
Hallock.  Nothing  but  a  divine  influence  could  make 
such  a  man ;  self-interest  could  never  produce  such 
consecration;  the  world's  motives  could  never  beget 
such  singleness  of  purpose,  nor  can  human  society 
mould  such  purity  of  character  or  such  a  spirit  of  self- 
sacrificing  devotion.  His  life  and  work  stand  out  be- 
fore us  to-day  as  a  proof  of  the  reality  of  religion,  and 
an  illustration  of  the  grace  of  God  in  its  moulding  and 
constraining  power. 

"  As  we  look  back  over  the  history  of  his  busy  life, 
we  are  impressed, 

"  First,  with  the  manner  in  which  God  prepares  the 
man,  and  shapes  the  work  of  his  life  for  him. 

"  In  his  youth  he  hesitated  long  about  joining  the 
church,  because  of  a  self-jealousy  as  to  the  reality  oi 
his  religious  experience. 

"When  a  student  about  completing  his  theological 

course,  his  longings  were  for  the  missionary  field,  but 
14 


io6  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

when  his  friends  and  companions  were  offering  them- 
selves for  this  great  work  he  held  back  in  opposition  to 
all  his  impulses  from  a  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness. 
When  he  had  finished  his  studies  and  was  casting  about 
for  some  humble  sphere  of  labor,  he  caught  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  tract  agency  made  by  one  of  his  teachers, 
and  accepted  at  once  this  humble  office.  He  refused 
to  ride  in  the  stage  because  it  would  be  expensive  to 
the  little  society  which  he  proposed  to  serve.  He  de- 
clined the  offer  of  a  horse  because  his  feed  might  cost 
something  to  the  ministers  with  whom  he  might  lodge. 
Hence  he  started  out  on  foot,  traversed  several  of  the 
New  England  states,  urging  his  cause,  and  gathering 
subscriptions,  and  returned  after  some  weeks'  absence 
with  encouraging  additions  to  the  treasury,  at  a  cost  for 
expenses  of  34  cents  !  When  we  think  of  all  this,  and 
remember  that  from  this  humble  beginning  he  ad- 
vanced step  by  step  through  long  years  of  persevering 
devotion,  until  out  of  this  'day  of  small  things'  has 
grown  the  great  American  Tract  Society  which  is  now 
shadowing  with  its  beneficent  influences  this  whole  con- 
tinent, we  cannot  but  see  how  clearly  God  prepared 
the  man  for  the  work  and  the  work  for  the  man.  This 
is  our  impression  as  we  look  upon  the  divine  side,  but 
as  we  look  again  upon  his  history,  we  are  impressed, 

"  Secondly,  with  the  human  element  in  the  work  of 
God  in  the  world.  His  life  illustrates  how  much  may 
be  accomplished  by  entire  consecration  to  a  single 
work. 

"  Every  one  who  was  acquainted  with  Dr.  Hallock 


THE  END.  107 

knew  how  completely  his  whole  life  was  bound  up 
within  the  idea  of  the  Tract  Society.  He  lived  for 
nothing  else,  he  knew  nothing  else.  He  lived  and 
wrought  with  incessant  toil  and  unflagging  energy  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  through 
the  word  of  truth  printed  and  circulated  by  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society.  He  had  many  able  and  valued 
helpers,  but  he  inspired  them  all  with  his  spirit,  and 
wrought  into  them  all  his  one  idea,  and  it  is  doubtless 
to  this,  under  God,  that  we  must  attribute  the  wonder- 
ful success  and  wide-spread  influence  of  this  great  insti- 
tution. 

"  Thirdly.  Again,  the  life  of  Dr.  Hallock  illustrates 
the  special  teaching  of  God's  Spirit  as  a  preparation  for 
a  specific  purpose. 

"  It  was  a  work  well  worth  the  labor  of  any  man,  no 
matter  how  high  his  endowments  or  how  extensive  his 
attainments,  to  write  the  'Life  of  Harlan  Page;'  but 
perhaps  no  other  man  on  this  continent  could  have 
written  it.  There  was  a  correllation  between  the 
author  and  the  subject.  Harlan  Page  was  a  miracle  of 
grace,  and  to  Dr.  Hallock  was  given  the  spiritual  eye- 
salve  to  see  the  peculiar  work  of  God  upon  his  soul, 
the  qualities  of  heart  to  appreciate  the  riches  of  grace 
in  his  experience,  and  the  simplicity  of  heart  and  of 
style  to  tell  the  story  with  the  greatest  effect.  Had  the 
life  of  Harlan  Page  been  written  in  a  stilted  style  it 
would  have  lost  its  charm ;  had  it  been  treated  with  a 
philosophic  criticism  it  would  have  created  no  interest  ; 
had  it  been  composed  in  a  style  adorned  with  rhetorical 


io8  DR.   WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK. 

prettiness,  it  would  have  robbed  it  of  its  power ;  but  as 
written  by  Dr.  Hallock  it  has  been  one  of  the  most 
potent  influences  for  good  that  has  ever  issued  from 
the  American  press.  Thousands  of  souls  ascribe  their 
conversion  to  this  little  volume.  It  has  stimulated 
Christian  work  in  all  our  churches,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  chief  influences  in  disseminating  far  and  wide  the 
idea  of  dealing  with  men  personally,  and  of  aiming  to 
convert  individuals.  I  doubt  not  but  that  this  little 
book  has  been  the  forerunner  that  has  prepared  the 
way  for  the  great  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  in  this  country. 

"  But  time  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell  at  length 
upon  the  character  and  influences  of  this  blessed  man. 
With  all  his  force  and  influence  he  was  one  of  the 
humblest  of  men.  He  had  no  assumption.  The 
thought  of  his  own  reputation  or  of  getting  glory  from 
men  seemed  never  to  enter  his  mind.  It  was  most 
refreshing  to  see  his  humble  simplicity.  It  always 
made  me  feel  better  to  know  that  there  was  such  a  man 
living  in  the  world.  It  was  my  privilege  to  know  him 
best  in  his  later  years.  Like  the  Green  Mountains  in 
which  he  was  born,  his  old  age  was  green  and  beautiful, 
and  now  *  he  has  come  to  his  grave  in  full  age,  like  as 
a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season.' 

"  In  conclusion  let  me  say  how  much  he  was  loved 
and  appreciated  by  his  brethren  in  the  ministry.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  '  Chi  Alpha,'  an  association  of 
ministers  well  known  in  this  city.  It  seemed  to  be  a 
perfect  delight  to  Dr.  Hallock  to  attend  that  meeting, 


THE  END.  109 

and  it  was  a  joy  to  his  brethren  to  see  him  there.  Next 
to  Dr.  Cox,  whose  funeral  occurs  to-morrow,  he  was  the 
oldest  member  of  the  association,  and  it  was  most  inter- 
esting to  see  the  tender  affection  with  which  he  was 
always  welcomed,  and  the  honor  which  was  spontane- 
ously accorded  to  him  by  his  loving  brethren.  Blessed 
man !  he  now  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  do 
follow  him." 

A  body  of  earnest,  believing  men  have  left  the  field, 
"  but  it  is  a  joy,"  said  Dr.  Williams,  "  to  think  of  the 
great  work  of  their  earthly  career  as  still  going  on." 

The  personal  efforts  made  in  the  wards  of  New 
York  city  by  officers  and  friends  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Tract  Society,  to  bring  people  within  the  pale  of 
Christian  influences  and  institutions,  was  carried  vigor- 
ously and  systematically  forward  from  the  first.  There 
was  no  lapse  or  neglect  in  the  great  enterprise.  So 
large  had  the  work  become  to  meet  the  needs  of  a 
great  and  growing  city,  in  1864  it  was  incorporated 
into  a  separate  institution,  taking  the  name  of  the 
*'New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society."  Its 
missionaries,  chapels,  Sunday-schools,  reading-rooms, 
cheap  lodging-rooms,  improved  tenement-houses,  day 
nurseries,  workingmen's  clubs,  and  temperance  socie- 
ties, form  a  network  of  reforming  and  redeeming  agen- 
cies second  to  no  similar  work  in  the  world. 

The  spirit  of  Harlan  Page  and  his  biographer  is  not 
dead,  but  lives  in  a  thousand  forms  of  personal  yearn- 
ing and  endeavor  to  lift  men  to  God  and  better  things. 

While   this    vigorous   offshoot   is  doing   its  brave 


no  DR.  WILLIAM  A.  HALLOCK, 

work  in  a  permanent  location,  the  main  body  of  the 
American  Tract  Society  is  still  stretching  out  its 
branches  far  and  wide,  and  through  its  colporteurs  and 
presses  helping  to  educate  the  people  of  this  and  other 
lands. 

Inspired  by  its  success,  kindred  societies  have 
sprung  up  around  it;  books  and  papers  and  readers 
have  multiplied,  and  a  religious  literature  has  been 
created.  With  its  varied  and  hard-won  experience,  and 
its  catholic  basis  more  truly  understood  and  interpreted 
than  ever  before,  its  present  equipment,  and  the  ever- 
increasing  power  of  the  press  in  our  modern  civilization, 
its  useful  and  beneficent  ministry  must  still  go  on  to 
coming  generations.  While  the  methods  and  the  qual- 
ity of  Christian  work  must  change  to  suit  the  changing 
epochs,  the  world  will  never  outgrow  its  supreme  need 
of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


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